The Act Of Estimating As Worthless - Amongst These Splintered Minds//Leaden Thoughts Sing Softly

Released: 12^th February 2012 *Official on cassette*

Label: Mt.Home/Double Double Whammy

Genre: Indie Folk

TL;DR: Very sweet. 8/10

Juno is a film which used The Moldy Peaches in the soundtrack to perfect the relaxed, anti-everything nature of the character played by Ellen Page. The band’s very basic instrumentation performed lazily as vocals were slurred all over to create the very soundtrack to every teenager who took an instant shine to Juno.

So think of The Act Of Estimating As Worthless as the Neutral Milk Hotel obsessed cousin of The Moldy Peaches. The band use a ton of added instrumentation, distortion and quality joint boy-girl vocals to produce debut album Amongst These Splintered Minds//Leaden Thoughts Sing Softly.  Their name comes from the definition of the word “floccinoccihilipilification” also known as the longest word in the English language.

We begin with Bones, a track that offers the listener an introduction into a sound that is sweet, but also very morbid, dark enough to be considered serious. The added sample of water running also adds a nice chilled effect to the song, and a very sombre feeling looms over once the orchestral instruments leak into the sound.

The vocals compliment the instrumentation perfectly but unfortunately sink too deep into it at some points, especially when the instrumentation hit their ultimate peak. However, the combination of distortion and orchestral elements and the pending sense of doom create a very emotional end to a very morbid track. This is where the similarities to The Moldy Peaches end, as The Act Of…don’t talk about girls or boys; instead they voice their thoughts on much serious topics.

The highlight of the album is No One On The Road. It contains the perfect use of a song sounding different at the start and the end; the slow beginning that lets the instruments fuse together at their own pace and the quiet male vocals projects a very timid start that is also very serene and beautiful.

The ending bares a lot of similarities with Ghost by Neutral Milk Hotel. The way it sounds completely different with the start but also sounds very fitting is an accomplishment I’ve only seen happen from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. It has a lot of the sound that I’ve seen Los Campesinos! use in some of their songs but it has always sounded too manufactured, whereas this track seems to drive naturally into its climax.

Amongst These Splintered Minds…is a very beautiful and emotional listen. Each of the twelve tracks tells their own story without sounding too much like their neighbour. The production is top notch, the vocals are top notch, the instrumentation is top notch and it just remains enjoyable with every listen.