Track Review: If You Get This, Follow Our Beacon // Hailing Ishimura
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalists Christopher True and Dom Hopson, Hailing Ishimura melds together elements of indie-rock, progressive rock and post-rock in a cinematic soundscape. Brought together by their wives who met in middle school, the band was family before it was actually a musical project. This is my introduction to Hailing Ishimura, but they have been featured on notable blogs like The Other Side Reviews, Edgar Allan Poets, and Roadie Music. The latest addition to their discography is ‘If You Get This, Follow Our Beacon’.
Following their debut track ‘Looking For Life’, the sophomore single ‘If You Get This, Follow Our Beacon’ combines soothing synths with a post-rock guitar. Almost old-school synth-rock but with a contemporary edginess, Hailing Ishimura brings modern-day audiences a taste of yesteryear. Described as being a journey created for the listener, the instrumental progression of ‘If You Get This, Follow Our Beacon’ navigates life with its melodic arrangement. A steady undertone of synth-led post-rock exists, but the harmonic texture brings out a more rugged guitar-based movement in the track.
While the melody itself is moving, ‘If You Get This, Follow Our Beacon’ shows an intimate connection with listeners. In line with their concept of individual journeys, Hailing Ishimura developed a story which eventually resulted in the ambient single. True and Hopson share that “the adventurers of our story have been through hell. They are exhausted and approaching death. In that instant, they find what they had been searching for and press the beacon to send a message home.”
Perfectly aligning the elegant instrumentation to the movements of a poetic concept, you can feel how the journey progresses in each movement. It might sound a little cheesy, but I (and I’m sure many others) get it and will be happy to follow Hailing Ishimura’s beacon if it means more fantastic music like this.