Cineasta – Unreel
Cineasta – Unreel
Lion Music
Release date: 23/07/26
Review by: Jon Deaux
8/10
This is what happens when someone turns personal tragedy into a rock record instead of actual therapy. Don’t worry, it still ends in healing — just the kind that needs a body bag and a string section to get there.
If you ever wanted to hear an emotional breakdown done with a new DAW and some encouragement from a poster, then look no further than the latest project from Cineasta called Unreel (or Unreal, depending on how badly reality’s buffering today). I’m not sure, given the current state of reality, this album definitely knows when to use that reverb too. Anyway, it’s pretty clear that you were having a really rough day when you listened to this music, and the album’s response is strings. Yes, lots of them – maybe too many for your liking. And if “too many strings” have never prevented anybody from scoring a movie, then nothing will stop this album.
It’s the second full-length album from Lisbon-based musician Alexandre Santos (also known as Scar For Life), and it seems like an excellent score for some movie whose main character misses the point again and again, but does it in such a way that the lighting is perfect throughout all this nonsense. The image that comes to my mind after listening to the record is that of somebody standing by the window of their room and looking into it with despair and regret, drinking coffee that they obviously don’t need. And ‘Chapter Zero’ introduces us to the album and its main idea in the same way. ‘Testing The Waters’ suggests that the person fell in the water and is sending notes to us with the help of an orchestra that’s playing from the bottom of that lake.
And here comes the catch, which might not be considered as such – there are no words in the songs. Which means there is nobody who could tell us how to react to these compositions, and we have to rely only on our emotions and those beautiful violin parts. No lyrics mean no closure, and the vibe the album sends us leaves us with no doubt that it understands something in our lives better than we do. German D helps the process of the emotional meltdown and does so by arranging the pieces with a string quartet. Suddenly, listening to the record is no longer embarrassing, and crying in your car feels much more natural than before.
As far as the guest appearances on the album go, they make it sound even more serious and dramatic, since it feels like the album is coming to collect some debts from your soul – debts that you tried to forget. Mark Boals adds a vocal part to the song ‘Ecliptica,’ which reminds me of the man singing on the end times, the ones that are approaching soon, and in which he is planning to cater to the guests. And David Reed Watson transforms the composition ‘My Unfolding’ into something that’s supposed to be listened to and understood – and it takes him (what feels like) 18 minutes to convince you that it’s worth it. And Sombra adds a bit of Portuguese to the album, and it’s like emotion decided to check its passport and move into your house forever.
‘Lights Through The Crack’ and ‘Now It’s Found’ are songs that seem like the record trying to get rid of the visitor – you – with a smile on its face. You should listen to the composition to realize that it’s the album kicking you out gently with the promise that you’ll come back soon to continue the discussion. The last track ‘Art of Menoevil,’ made together with Avika Vimolrat, closes the door to you – and the visual identity for this track proves it well. It’s between some gallery and “you weren’t prepared for this JPEG,” which is a nice comparison.
And I think I can feel the happiness in that record, the happiness of the game show host. All these wounds appear with a wink, a flourish, and a pun that doesn’t fit anywhere anymore – which actually makes it more appealing. It’s a song version of somebody saying, “at least, it isn’t raining outside,” while looking right into the eye of a hurricane. Some people will appreciate that kind of attitude – misery presented elegantly with liner notes and good posture. Like a man who cries at his own funeral in a suit because of the good posture.
And if you are waiting for me to say that the album has a heart on its sleeve, then you probably didn’t pay enough attention to its music, because it definitely looks like the organ was long gone, taking all the good things with it. There is a possibility that this record becomes too dramatic and deep, but there is no sign of that – maybe because the composer knows the difference between sincerity and self-importance. But it’s very close and slippery at the same time, and at one point, I was not sure whether a string section symbolizes hope or just aggressively asks for some money. But anyway – it makes the song better.
But what strikes me the most about this record is that, somehow, against all possible expectations, it is positive and energetic. Which can be perceived as either really good or incredibly suspicious, because the previous albums that promised healing have let us down a lot of times. This album, despite being full of despair and hopelessness, knows that it is strong enough to survive any hardships and become even more optimistic and full of energy, which I admire.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Chapter Zero
02. Testing The Waters
03. Waiting For The Wind To Turn
04. … E Foi Amor (feat. Sombra)
05. Recomeço (feat. Sombra)
06. Still Far
07. Ecliptica (feat. Mark Boals)
08. My Unfolding (feat. David Reed Watson)
09. Now It’s Found
10. Light Through The Crack
LINKS:
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