Review: Pelican ‘Flickering Resonance’

In all my time of listening to heavy and obscure music, there have always been certain bands who I known the name, but never actually invested any time in. In recent years, I’ve been slowly catching up and having my eyes opened in the most pleasant way indeed.

It started with Kyuss, a band I had known of since the ’90s, but musically had slipped past me, most likely while I was busy engaging with nu and some black metal, as well as a bit of grindcore along the way. Considering I was a fan of Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss and Fu Manchu weren’t anything I had invested any time into.

The same happened again with Drive Like Jesu, and again, once I finally caught the train, they were a revelation to me. I had the same with the band I’m reviewing today, Pelican. Again, have known of the name for easily twenty years, but hadn’t been on my playlist… until now.

In all honesty, I thought they had actually separated, so the fact they have reemerged with this latest release has been somewhat of a whole new level of naivety that I have finally ‘popped my cherry on’ so to speak. And as an initial statement piece, I want to say this new album, Flickering Resonance, is more an exercise in a sonic spiritual awakening, more than it is merely a new discovery.

Let me explain…

Over the last few years, thanks to having spent a lot of time invested in the whole Portals Festival experience, I have become very aware of a huge amount of post-rock music. Among my favourites, I can consider This Will Destroy You, Lost In Kiev, and I Hear Sirens as a few shining examples of the calibre I have become educated in. Knowing that a lot of these sorts of bands class Pelican as pioneers, to have only just made that leap does seem ridiculous, but here we are.

Thankfully, this has been rectified, and in the most euphoric way possible, because even for Pelican themselves, this newest album is so utterly engaging that it’s more of an uplifting sonic ritual than anything else. There is something utterly compelling encapsulated on Flickering Resonance, and the very joy that can be felt deep inside by experiencing the album is ridiculous. It really is a joyous feeling indeed.

Maybe it’s in part to the return of the quartet’s original guitarist, Laurent Schroeder-Lebec, who stepped back from the band over a decade ago, and came back into the fold in 2022, but there is a real vibe that resonates throughout the whole album, like they’re the happiest, and most content that they’ve ever been.

That doesn’t mean that they weren’t at their full potential for over a decade, all their albums are genre defining, but the newest addition just hits a little different.

After investing some time, and money, in their back catalogue, there’s definitely been a shift in mood, and whereas older releases seem a bit darker and moodier, on Flickering Resonance, you can hear the joy contained in playing together as a unit again.

it’s slick, emotive, and leaves you feeling better every single time you listen to it…

From my first listen to the opening track of the album, Gulch, even in those initial seconds, you actually feel lifted by the experience. Personally, I don’t tend to end up beaming from ear to ear on hearing any new music these days, not because I’m a sad old sack (well, maybe a little), but because most music takes a while to grow on me. With this new Pelican album, its instantaneous, it feels so effortless.

The whole album, every track, right from Gulch up to album closer Wandering Mind is solid, expertly laid out musicianship that adds mass to what a heavyweight band Pelican truly are.

Each element is meticulously recorded, every breakdown, drum flourish and guitar break feel effortless. This is a band who have moved far beyond trying to put out material to impress their audience; it’s a band that loves playing together, and this comes over across the eight tracks.

As post-rock benchmark albums go, this one is going to be in the top ten of all time easily, it’s slick, emotive, and leaves you feeling better every single time you listen to it.

It’s not weighed down in angst or any negativity, instead lifts up and rises the whole time. You can picture the band playing in your mind’s eye, through the quality of the recording, and you know they are loving the process of vibing off each other.

This is one of those albums you are going to want to boast to your friends about, the wonderous return of a truly legendary pioneering atmospheric post-rock band, that the chances are, they’ve never heard of. I know this to be true because it’s what I’ve been doing.

Easily a contender for album of the year for me, Pelican Flickering Resonance should be on your ‘must invest’ list, and if it isn’t, you need to address that. With a tour promoting the new album around Europe and the UK in 2025, if you haven’t already, now’s the time to jump on board. You won’t regret it, Pelican are back and better than ever.

Label: Run For Cover Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Lee Beamish