To See More Light is the most dynamic and sonically prismatic album of the trilogy, and yet it manages to retain all of Stetson’s music’s singular attributes and poignancies
His work on To See More Light exhibits powerful, brave juxtapositions and contrasts.
Vol 3: To See More Light is his strongest and most cohesive collection in his career, aided in large part by the head-turning vocals of Justin Vernon, who appears on four of the 11 tracks on the album.
With additional help from fellow musician and frequent collaborator Justin Vernon, the songs on To See More Light are as devastatingly personal as they are emphatically otherworldly—inhuman sounding even.
Heard as the closing chapter in Stetson’s trilogy, To See More Light feels essentially like more: it’s more intense, more sprawling, both darker and lighter simultaneously.
For its abrasiveness, brute force, and determination to push the instrument to its limits, Stetson’s New History Warfare 3 should delight anyone bored with noise, power electronics, industrial, and post-rock
With New History Warfare, Vol. 3, Stetson explores scorched landscapes and heavenly scenes alike with his stylized playing.
Like most free jazz, it's music of the moment, a work of granular epiphanies that accrete, finally, into a magnificent whole.
In many ways, New History Warfare Vol. 3 marks no great departure from previous releases, but don't let this deter you-Stetson has ventured into uncharted territory, and the heretofore-unheard sounds that he's brought back are utterly bewitching.
I'd seen Stetson's music defined far too broadly as 'jazz' before, and it put me off back then, but his new record is a fascinating listen that's worth anyone's time.
While To See More Light picks up smoothly where its predecessor left off, it certainly doesn’t feel like Stetson has exhausted the potential of his highly specified method.
The album is stacked with jaw-dropping moments, underpinned by seismic emotional shifts.
[My 1,000th Review!!!]
Colin Stetson makes an even more fantastic leap on "To See More Light", using his hums on the mouthpiece and the spiraling sax work to make an even creepier, if not intimate, atmosphere than ever before. The title track and "Among the Sef" are fantastic examples of this. Add to that the vocals from Justin Vernon and some jaw-dropping moments and you have one of his finest works to date, even if its predecessor felt a bit more cohesive.
Fav Tracks: To ... read more
I'm so happy Colin is doing the soundtrack for the Uzumaki anime, that is going to be so sick.
This was amazing, he deserves so much more recognition.
The first thing I heard from this album was Among the Sef when I was on the verge of a psychotic break in 2021, and to say that made me hesitant to check out the entire album would be an understatement. However, after having listened to the entire album in full, I regret not doing so earlier, this album is a stunning treat for the ears that instills emotions that shouldn't exist. Chaotic and yet cohesive as a whole project, all the tracks feel like they bleed into each other yet they are all ... read more
The amount of shining optimism this exudes can honestly be seen as corny. But I think it's too artistically intriguing to simply set it aside like that.
1 | And in Truth 1:34 | 90 |
2 | Hunted 5:51 | 90 |
3 | High Above a Grey Green Sea 4:26 | 90 |
4 | In Mirrors 1:26 | 85 |
5 | Brute 2:55 | 100 |
6 | Among the Sef (Righteous II) 4:36 | 100 |
7 | Who the Waves Are Roaring For (Hunted II) 4:08 | 100 |
8 | To See More Light 15:09 | 100 |
9 | What Are They Doing in Heaven Today? 3:36 | 90 |
10 | This Bed of Shattered Bone 2:09 | 90 |
11 | Part of Me Apart From You 5:51 | 95 |
#31 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#36 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#37 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
#41 | / | Spin |