Ahkmed - In Your Neck Of The Woods Dying

Artist: Ahkmed
Album: In Your Neck Of The Woods Dying
Label: Independent
Year: 2005







Tracklist:
01. Kirrae
02. Ilanesia
03. Curlie
04. T=0

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Melbourne, Australia's Ahkmed is really on to something. Their self-described sound is "post-stoner," and that's an apt des c r i p tion, as the band fuses the more traditional psych and fuzz utilized so often by the best of the stoner bunch with the more atmospheric instrumental approach of bands such as Pelican and the more recent Mogwai albums. Cool concept - it's like somebody put chocolate in my peanut butter, and peanut butter in my chocolate, and I'm loving it. What's even cooler is that this trio isn't afraid to throw a little kraut into the mix as well, and while that might sound really disgusting if we were still talking about peanut butter and chocolate, musically it works well.* I hear echoes of Neu!, Amon Duul II, and Tangerine Dream in some of these sprawling tracks. Oh, and for the record, the last track has vocals; the other three do not. These guys have been around since 1998, and it's a shame that they haven't gathered more notoriety, because this is pretty intriguing stuff, and they actually manage to take modern heavy psych and put their own spin on it. I really can't recommend this enough. Now come to America so I can see it all live. (StonerRock.com)

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Mouth Of The Architect - The Ties That Blind

Artist: Mouth Of The Architect
Album: The Ties That Blind
Label: Translation Loss
Year: 2006








Tracklist:
01. Baobab
02. No One Wished To Settle Here
03. Carry On
04. Harboring An Apparition
05. At Arms Length
06. Wake Me When It's Over

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Mouth of the Architect’s 2006 release The Ties That Blind is a dense slab of spacey rock and metal in a style similar to that of bands such as Isis, Cult of Luna, and Neurosis. What sets Mouth of the Architect’s music apart are the extremely well-crafted, sludge-laden riffs that develop throughout the mellow passages. When one of those monster riffs really kicks in, it’s powerful stuff, made even more effective by the build-up process. That's not to say that the more atmospheric segments are strictly filler for the riffs, it's just that many songs in this particular genre meander for too long without actually leading anywhere.

There are only six tracks on The Ties That Blind, yet it still runs over an hour in its entirety (the shortest track still surpasses 7 minutes). There aren’t any specific stand-out tracks, and each song builds and expands over time, so this isn’t one of those albums that will work for every occasion.

The plodding build up and the monotone vocals are likely to bore quite a few listeners; however, if you have the time and patience to allow the tracks to fully develop, The Ties That Blind is definitely worth checking out.-by (livingformetal.com)

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Across Tundras - Lonesome Wails from the Weeping Willow

Artist: Across Tundras
Album: Lonesome Wails from the Weeping Willow
Label: Forgotten Empire Records
Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Before the Rooster Crows
02. Blackbird Sanguine Sky
03. Holes II: High River Dirge
04. The Wall of Breathless Sleep
05. Lowlands Low & Thunderstorm Wake
06. Last Breath over Venom Falls
07. Massive Echo Mountain
08. Cold Earth Death Scrolls
09. Lonesome Whistle Blues
10. Requiem for Luke the Drifter

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As of late, Across Tundras' clever take on sludge and doom metal has certainly been appreciated amongst the Neur-Isis disciple bands. The band's previous record took a robust helping of the standard stoner metal ingredients and blended in dashes of country twang, vintage rock, and folk undertones to create a unique combination of raw heaviness with a western psyche. Lonesome Wails from the Weeping Willow, their debut release for Forgotten Empire Records, showcases the band's ever increasing attention to detail, as the trio's sound is filled out with a wide range of traditional folk instruments (mandolin, slide guitar, etc.). These elements, though present on Western Sky Ride, permeate each and every track, allowing LWFTWW to represent the bands most unified and fluid record yet.

LWFTWW also displays a bit of a step away from Neurosis and Black Sabbath-type songwriting styles toward a sparser sound more akin to a blend of Earth and Neil Young. While the latter pair of influences was certainly instrumental in the musical mood of Western Sky Ride, they have moved to front and center on this release, pushing the stoner metal elements to the rear. In fact, many of the heavier moments of LWFTWW aren't necessarily heavy at all--they've got much more in common with 70s psychedelic rock than anything that would be classified as a traditional metal. So while the cohesiveness of this record is extremely impressive given the wide range of influences, many sludge/doom metal fans may find that Across Tundras has evolved to where they no longer sit on the edge of the genre.

But that's not to say that this album couldn't still appeal to this fan base. "Blackbird Sanguine Sky" and "Cold Earth Death Scrolls" both feature fantastic slow-moving chord progressions, vintage rock licks, raw drumming, and vocals buried deep in the mix--all of which could draw numerous comparisons to the songwriting mentality of many doom bands. Even the opener, "Before the Rooster Crows" exhibits an impressively dark mood through somber acoustic guitar work and murky ambiance. However, the great folk influence of tracks like "Lonesome Whistle Blues," "Lowlands Low & Thunderstorm Wa," and "Requiem for Luke the Drifter," represents quite a sizable songwriting shift from the band's last record. But alas, the band pulls it all together with ease, so listeners more inclined toward spacey vintage rock, or simply those tired with the often limited variety amongst doom and sludge releases will have no trouble getting into this.

Bottom Line: Across Tundras' Lonesome Wails from the Weeping Willow might not be as heavy as the band's previous record, but a more unified songwriting approach and the inclusion of all the bells and whistles of great folk and vintage rock albums easily make it a hit. It's perfect for fans of Earth, Neil Young, or those looking to trade a few big doom/sludge riffs for some equally dark western twang. -by lambgoat.com


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Mamiffer - Hirror Enniffer

Artist: Mamiffer
Album: Hiror Enniffer
Label: Hydra Head Records
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. This Land
02. Death Shawl
03. Annwn
04. Black Running Water
05. Suckling A Dead Litter
06. Cyhraeth

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Like an adamant darkening mist, Mamiffer’s Hirror Enniffer is a skulking presence that persists in its sense of despair only to evolve into distant calm right at the point when all hope appears lost.

Mamiffer is Faith Coloccia, a Seattle-based pianist, and a collective of song-weavers and visionaries. Under the watchful eye of Coloccia and her trusty tape recorder, friends Aaron Turner from Isis and Chris Common from These Arms Are Snakes have gathered to compile an environmental scourge of noise and atmosphere that is elegant, striking, and evocative.

Hirror Enniffer is Mamiffer’s debut and it breathes with all of the artistic sensibility one would expect from a musical visionary like Coloccia. Her sense of sound, her sense of feeling through sound, is exhibited in profound ways that intensify the experience with portions of classical, noise, and atmospheric rock.

At times, the air feels close.

But Mamiffer’s command of the atmosphere and the music is strong and the group exposes the elements, strips them bare, and places intricate song structures on top of sound and fog that more than likely was recorded in a dark, friendless field or perhaps in a Desert Hot Springs storm tunnel…

Hirror Enniffer comes like a dream, like an unrelenting vision that persists in deepening the tunnel until the bottom is all but forgotten. The tones are lush and somewhat damp, offering a glistening haze that carries through all six hypnotic tracks.

What really matters for Coloccia and Co. is the mood and the insistence of the passage of time. Chords hold and fade, easing through new notes perhaps by accident (“Death Shawl”) while still providing a clear direction. Other moments cascade like overlapping dreams, coating the listener in an episodic drama (“Black Running Water”) that subsides only when the full story is told.

Mamiffer’s Hirror Enniffer is dream music. It is the soundtrack in one’s head that winds through scenes of open fields, through hands on blades of grass, through moonlit mysteries. It is also the last stop as the dream passes from glorious cheerfulness to disastrous nightmare. The eeriness is pitiless and the alluring tide of darkness is often interminable like an endless hall filled with locked red doors (“Suckling a Dead Litter”).

Music like this cannot merely be described; music like this must be felt.

Mamiffer’s debut is a beautiful piece of unremitting dream music, an arc of soft diaphanous emotion wrapped in pieces of classical music and brilliant noise. Hirror Enniffer is constructed out of the materials that engage our minds, fuel our dreams, and reveal our hopes. (blogcritics.org)

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Our Ceasing Voice - Steadied Stars In The Morphium Sky

Artist: Our Ceasing Voice
Album: Steadied Stars In The Morphium Sky
Label: Self released
Year: 2009



Tracklist:
01. The Inevitable Fall
02. Of Lives Once Lost
03. As The Horizon's On Fire
04. Dazzled Eyes Are Shut

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Our Ceasing Voice is a post-rock band from Tirol, Austria that started in late 2006. The band consists of three members and after a few changes and musical identification processes the current line up is:
Sebastian: guitars and programming
Christoph: bass
Reinhard: guitars/ vocals

The EP was written and recorded from fall '08 to winter '08. The band recorded the ep theirselves in their home-studio and then it was professionally mastered.

The EP is licensed under a creative commons license, allowing everyone to download/share the material. However, Our Ceasing Voice also offer a physical copy of the record. Packaging is hand-made: a 5,25inch floppy disc with pictures and liner notes holds the actual CD and is enveloped by handmade sleeves, with delicate photography on them.

The band's sound consists of a mix of ambient sounds along with (sometimes heavy) guitar riffs and the result is really interesting and enjoyable during the almost half-hour length of this ep. Furthermore, though Steadied Stars In The Morphium Sky was self-produced in the band's home-studio, the sound of this ep is pretty solid. So, Our Ceasing Voice offers us, already, one really remarkable release for this new year... -by DE-LOUSED (post-engineering.blogspot.com)


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Spylacopa - Spylacopa

Artist: Spylacopa
Album: Spylacopa
Label: Rising Pulse Records
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Haunting A Ghost
02. Bloodletting
03. Together We Become Forever
04. Staring at the Sound
05. I Should Have Known You Would

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What do you get when you combine one part The Dillinger Escape Plan (Greg Puciato), one part Candiria (John LaMacchia), one part Isis (Jeff Caxide) and one part Made Out of Babies/Battle of Mice (Julie Christmas)? Well, you have the supergroup project called Spylacopa, who are now releasing their self-titled debut EP on Rising Pulse Records. Not quite metal, not quite post-rock, but certainly something along the lines of avant-garde flavored rock, Spylacopia certainly mix it up here on this 5-song EP. Puciato's tortured screams and wailings work well alongside the gentle vocals of Christmas on the manic opener "Haunting A Ghost", LaMacchia's textured guitar work providing plenty of the fireworks for this otherwise varied opening cut. More of the same can be heard on the raucous "Bloodletting", giving way to melodic piano on the gentle "Together We Become Forever". They come back with raging yet funky extreme metal on "Staring At the Sound", a ripping number with crunch riffs, pounding drum work, and lots of effective vocals from Puciato, in what is no doubt the song that shows the most promise for this ensemble on this EP. The closer "I Should Have Known You Would" takes an almost Pink Floyd meets Isis approach to atmospheric & ambient rock, dreamy vocals meshing with Dave Gilmour inspired guitar work and plenty of dark overtones.


As strong as this is, it just seems like the tip of the iceberg. We obviously know of the pedigree of these folks, so now that we have a taste of what they can do, let's hope next time around they can give us a full blast of the potential that's shown here.-by Pete Pardo (seaoftranquility.com)

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Dosh - Wolves And Wishes

Artist: Dosh
Album: Wolves ANd Wishes
Label: Anticon
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Don't Wait For The Needle To Drop
02. Bury The Ghost
03. If You Want To, You Have To
04. First Impossible
05. Hit And Pearle
06. Wolves
07. Food Cycles
08. Keep Up Appereance
09. The Magic Stick
10. Capture The Flag

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Dosh fits many of the backpack rapper stereotypes. He sits on the Anticon roster, a bastion of rule-breaking hip-hop that has no truck with the likes of, say, Cam'ron or Petey Pablo. He comes from Minneapolis, home of the Replacements and Prince, but wanting for nationally known rappers, save the canonized-on-the-quad Atmosphere. Dosh's beats aren't composed of soul samples, drowning in bass, or expressly built to house verses and choruses: they are impressionistic, surging, cut loose of 4/4 constraints. Over the frenzy of drum machines and looped samples, he would take the pensive swirl of his vintage Rhodes and pile it dramatically-- with a flair for surprise-- on top of something else.

But he doesn't rap. His connection to the genre won't be obvious to most listeners. In fact, you might call him electronica's answer to the rising tide, reported in The New York Times Magazine, of one-man operations that sound like bands. But listening to Dosh, as opposed to listening to the equally skilled Four Tet, you don't have the sense of technology rudely intruding into the creative process, of the wizard too busy to care whether we can see him behind the curtain. He does care: where Four Tet parades his mastery of vivid, unapologetic collage, Dosh goes for a mastery of illusion.

So like any illusionist, he takes care to start and end with a bang. Only Dosh could imagine, let alone orchestrate, a meeting of Andrew Bird's tender violin and Fog's hyperactive guitar and bass. The play of vibes and keys lends this, the album opener "Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop", a mesmerizing texture, the grooves recalling a funk-tinged, gamelan symphony. "Capture the Flag" falls on the other end of Wolves and Wishes, where it reaches for the same exotic grandeur. Strings appear again, in sampled form, along with the Dosh's fuzzy arpeggios. But now we hear a sax pumping away. And more surprisingly, we hear Dosh's own voice lowered over the maze of noise, cutting a passage of coolness and clarity into the thickets of dense, off-kilter instrumentation.

Between these bursts of color, the album rarely tones it down. Without sounding repetitive, a network of reappearing themes, people, and sounds holds Wolves and Wishes together. Andrew Bird returns to grace "Kit and Pearle", for instance, with more anguished turns on his violin, underneath Dark Dark Dark's sighing vocals. The outer tracks' air of exoticism pours back in on the rhythmically brilliant "Food Cycles" and "Keep Up Appearances". And Dosh's protégé Mike Lewis launches his sax into Jeremy Ylvisaker's vibrating, room-filling sheets of reverb on "Wolves". Not until we reach the final minutes of the tectonic, Sun Ra-repping, Arthur Russell-influenced epic "First Impossible" do we hear an unexpected, unmistakable rap beat. It fits right in. People want to call this IDM. The label tells vendor to file this under "Rock". Bristling with jazzy forms, infused with a global soul, Wolves and Wishes turns hip-hop's philosophy of bricolage into a glitchy, raucous, genre-spanning achievement. - by Roque Strew (pitchforkmedia.com)

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The Storm Explosion - Wasteland EP

Artist: The Storm Explosion
Album: Wasteland EP
Label: Unsigned
Year: 2009



Tracklist:
01. Wasteland
02. Everything That's Living
03. Not Alone



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The Storm Explosion are a 4 piece experimental guitar band making waves in their hometown of Reading in the South of England. Consisting of Jamie Allaway Guitar/vocals, Gary McSorley/Guitar, Andy Henderson/Bass, Pedro Borralho/Drums.
The band had been jammin as a 3-piece for the last 2 years, locked away in their practice room in Readinf, writing music that would "Blow People Away". The band didn't follow any rules in making music and do thing the way they want without any boundaries or limits. In March 2008 the band decided although still a strong force as a 3 piece, that they would sound bigger with 2 guitarists. So McSorley, also a talented guitarist, would now play guitar. Then by chance Andrew Henderson, a close associate of the band stepped forward, more than willing to play bass. Now with the line-up complete, the band once again retreated to the practice room to learn to play as a 4 piece, which was an instant and natural transition. The band is now getting ready for its summer gigs and to unleash their sound to the people.

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The Amenta

Artist: The Amenta
Album: n0n
Label: Listenable
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. On
02. Junky
03. Vermin
04. Entropy
05. Slave
06. Whore
07. Spine
08. Skin
09. Dirt
10. Atrophy
11. Cancer
12. Rape

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Formed as a reaction against the retrogression of the music climate, THE AMENTA has breathed new life into ‘extreme metal.’ The Australian quintet’s critically acclaimed sophomore album, n0n - which mixes intricate guitar riffs, gut-wrenchingly scathing vocals, and avant-garde ambiance - has made a huge impact in Europe, receiving raving reviews in Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, and Rock Sound magazines. n0n is the soundtrack to a modern age.

Formed in 2000 by guitarist Erik Miehs and sampler Timothy Pope, THE AMENTA quickly came to embody a new movement in both the worldwide, and local extreme metal scenes. Fusing industrial noisescapes, brutal distortion, and mind numbingly complex riffs, THE AMENTA defined its distinctiveness early in its career. The band recorded and released the Mictlan MCD in 2002. Four tracks depicting mourning and intellectual decay set to unsettling industrial ambiance: Mictlan set the standard for THE AMENTA’s future releases. In addition to excellent reviews and significant praise across the globe, the MCD also gained the attention of France’s Listenable Records; in turn, setting the stage for the evolution of THE AMENTA from a local band to a group of professional artists.

Listenable Records released Occasus, the band’s 2004 full-length debut, worldwide. The album was recorded and mixed by Lachlan Mitchell and THE AMENTA at Room of Doom Studios, Que Studios, and BJB Studios in Sydney and mastered at Studio 301 by Steve Smart. The ten-track epic, which touches on themes of revolt against tradition; human stagnancy; slave society fostered by religion and socio-political dogma; consists of masterful riffing and melancholy ambiance. Occasus was received by the media with raving reviews, and by the end of 2004, THE AMENTA tied for second place in Terrorizer Magazines’ ‘Best New Band” category, and won “Best New Band” from Australian Kerrang!. Between the release of Ocassus and 2006, THE AMENTA toured Australia three times: opening for Alchemist, Behemoth, and as a headliner. In 2005, Mictlan was released on limited 7” vinyl, and Ocassus was re-released as a limited edition with a bonus “Virus” DVD/EP in 2007.

THE AMENTA returned to the studio in late 2007 to record their sophomore effort n0n. Rather than relying on the clichéd sound and style in which other bands are content to wallow, THE AMENTA has constructed an album built on new ideas, concepts, sounds and techniques. n0n is the fusion of white noise, shards of dissonant guitars, and dense layers of radio chatter. Lyrically, n0n is a newscast, contextualizing the listener into his vice-driven society with suicide bombers and evangelists: freeways, and dead ends. n0n is an indictment on today’s media and technology addicted hyperactive society. With each song featuring over 100 instrument and sample tracks, the album pushes technology to its absolute limits. The recording of n0n spans many countries and seven different studios, with a myriad of different contributors and performers including Jason Mendonca (Akercocke), Alice Daquet (Sir Alice), Alex Pope (Ruins) and more. Fusing the ugliest parts of extreme metal, electronic noise, and dub; with a ferocious and scathing world view, n0n is the future of extreme music! In October 2007 THE AMENTA toured Australia with The Berzerker. Due to overwhelming success and demand, the two will once again tour Australia and New Zealand in January 2008 on the Industrial Corruption Tour. n0n was released in Europe on 20 October via Listenable Records, and will be released in North America on 10 February 2009. THE AMENTA will hit European shores for the first time, supporting DEICIDE and VADER on the Winter Fest 2009 tour. THE AMENTA will deliver unrelenting brutality on a massive scale to dissidents worldwide, while redefining death metal.

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This Is Your Captain Speaking - Eternal Return

Artist: This Is Your Captain Speaking
Album: Eternal Return
Label: Missing Link
Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Part 1
02. Incirculation
03. Part 3
04. Lullaby
05. Part 2

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“Attention passengers, This is Your Captain Speaking.” A disembodied, calm, authoritative voice, one that is meant to soothe and assuage the fears of those who have placed themselves in its charge – this is This is Your Captain Speaking. There's no better way to put it than that. The sophomore effort from the criminally-underrated band from Melbourne is every bit as sedate and calm as their critically-acclaimed debut, Storyboard, but it manages to set itself apart from this monument to craftsmanship. It seems as if the band is more comfortable in their role – more stately, or more determined, if you will. But the scrupulous attention to detail that characterized the debut is still there, perhaps stronger than ever. There's very little flash, and even less in the glitter department on Eternal Return, but all the special effects in the world won't land the plane when you need them to – they blow stuff up, rather than bringing you home.

This is Your Captain Speaking trades the overwhelmingly solipsistic attitude of most instrumental artists plying their trade today for one of communal import. Eternal Return is not a release that draws the listener in upon herself, leading her to meditate only upon listener-as-individual, but instead ushers said individual to her place within her personal "society." This is evident through the album's organization: of five tracks, only two are given titles proper, and these are nestled safely between Parts 1, 3, and 2. This lack of detail gives us reason to place more emphasis upon the two “named” tracks. Between “Incirculation” and “Lullaby”, it is easy to see the thematic connection to a protective social community, itself being shielded by the strength of the “Part” tracks. The content of the tracks backs up the titles' suggestive thematic element with their warm repetition and resistance to the overbearing, melodramatic emotional outbursts of the band's peers.

Perhaps most interestingly, This is Your Captain Speaking manages to escape the inherent paradox of community-centered instrumental music (in that it is music that is best appreciated when listened to through some sort of headphone device, obviously severing the listener from the community) through the album's title and development. The title, Eternal Return, along with the band's moniker, suggests that the album is a return from a trip. The listener is not meant to stay within the confines of the album, for that would prevent the return that is promised – we are always, eternally returning, encircled by those we care for and lulled to sleep by their soothing voices. The album allows us to experience this feeling of return twice – once, vicariously through the album's slow, subtle development, and then again once we finish the release, coming out of the vicarious experience and into the actual experience of the friends and family around us. The listener does not only get to enjoy the music itself, but also comes to appreciate her own real-life returns with a greater understanding than would be possible without the experience. I do not need to tell you that an album having this kind of effect on the real-world interactions of its listeners is as rare (and refreshing) as an oasis in the desert.

But how does the music actually do all of this? It should not surprise veteran TiYCS listeners that the album revolves around subtle, contemplative repetition of guitar melodies, slowly developing and growing until the track becomes something completely different from where it began. With this sort of methodology, the band recalls ambient music more than the post-rock crowd they are normally lumped together with, and approaching Eternal Return from this perspective is essential to a proper understanding of the work. Make no mistake, though, this is not a completely ambient release – instead, it navigates between the genre and instrumental post-rock, taking what is best of the two genres and bringing them together under the band's incredible eye for detail and thematic power of the release. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the magnificent “Incirculation”. The first impression offered by the track is merely of an average post-rock track without a devastating climax – apparently a let-down. But once the listener begins to spend more time with the album, and the track in particular, the delicate movement of the track becomes apparent. It is linear, though it is driven by repetition, and though there are minor cathartic moments, the real joy of the track comes through the little changes - the tiny, meticulous developments that eventually produce the most momentous changes. Much like Tulsa Drone's (another instrumental outfit that takes many cues from ambient works) exquisite piece, “The Catch”, the only way to understand the piece is through close, focused listening – but once all is laid bare, the effort is undoubtedly worth it.

This is not an album for those with short attention spans, for those that need to be entertained rightnowatthisverysecond. This is not an album to be judged by first impressions, or even fifth impressions, for that matter. It is one to spend time with, to absorb over days and weeks of listening. As you begin to understand how the album grows, it grows on you, more and more, until it is difficult to resist the transformative experience the album suggests. This is the sort of album that the synthesis of post-rock and ambient music is designed to produce – and I don't think I've heard it done better. This is the sort of album that is the definition of why we listen to obscure, instrumental music, spending hours sifting through the weak stuff in order to find what's important. It does what pop and its related genres cannot – provide a real, genuine experience that can alter the way we interact with the world around us. This is perhaps the most important record of the year. Do not miss it. (thesilentballet.com)

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Misuse - Misuse

Artist: Misuse
Album: Misuse
Label: Spinalonga Records
Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Desecid
02. Made: Genesis
03. Made: Flat Line Evolution
04. Made: Loss In Action
05. Progyria
06. Amanzi
07. While It Lasts
08. Way To The Seashore

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This five-piece post-rock/heavy rock band had already formed a fan base in their homeland Greece, well before the release of their debut album. Mogwai chose them as a support act for their live date in Greece back in 2003. No plug-ins were used in this vintage-instruments-only debut that features Hammond organ, Obberheim synth, electroacoustic piano, celesta, vibraphone, violin, viola and cello. One cannot help but wonder what’s next…

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Guapo - Elixirs

Artist: Guapo
Album: Elixirs
Label: Neurot Recordings
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Jeweled Turtle
02. Arthur, Elsie And Frances
03. Twisted Stems The Heliotrope
04. Twisted Stems The Selenotrope
05. The Planks
06. King Lindorm

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Guapo are very deep. Their press release is chock full of words I don't understand relating to and hinting at themes I am not familiar with. While psychadelic music is known to me, never have I heard anything quite like Elixirs.

Instrumental Pink Floyd, disturbing horror movie soundtracks, Mogwai gone goth...it's hard to pin down the sounds on this album. "Jeweled Turtle" quite literally scares me, it's foreboding and restless strings melding into a sort of funeral dirge for someone who never comes back from an LSD trip. It mellows out towards the last-half (track is 13 minutes) and eventually starts to sound like something from a similar group, Secret Chiefs 3; something middle-eastern and rootsy, while retaining that undercurrent of dread. "Arthur, Elsie and Frances" sounds like carnival music gone completely wrong; a sect of drugie clown nihilists who come across a room full of musical equipment on Halloween night after getting wasted on absinthe and mescal. Totally fucking bonkers, but also totally enjoyable. The two "Twisted Stems" tracks are somewhat more subdued, mellow and feature some vocal work. Probably the closest things to typical songs on Elixirs. "The Planks" is just badass, a quick rhythmic shot of adrenaline before the closer "King Lindorm" manages to pull all of these sounds together into one last, concise and deliberate dose of "what the fuck".

You'll notice over there on the "Try if you like" list, one of them says "Scary ass shit!". This is more or less what I got from Elixirs, beyond the obvious masterful musicianship, myriad of enjoyable little musical moments and an overall atmosphere that chokes you as much as embraces you. Guapo are deep, but not to the point where you need to do any digging. They've made the hole for you; just jump in. But don't play this one in the dark, with no one around...who knows what your feeble imagination might conjure up... (musicemissions.com)

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Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker - Fantasma Parastasie

Artist: Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker
Album: Fantasma Parastasie
Label: alien8
Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Phantom On A Pedestal
02. Hymn To The Idea Of Night
03. Auditory Spirits
04. Skeleton Dance
05. Gallery Of The Invisible Woman
06. Dream Of The Nightmare
07. Fantasma Parastasie

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Aidan Baker, guitarist of a thousand releases and the megalithic drone-metal project Nadja, and Tim Hecker, preeminent lord of the ambient landscape, have come together to record an album. Methought it was an odd pairing at first, but it works perfectly - Nadja's brand of metallurgy frequently hovers into ambience, and Hecker has always been at the noisier end of the ambient spectrum. The resulting amalgamation is Fantasma Parastasie, and it bucks the trend with most side-projects, in that it holds up well next to anything either artist has released on his own.

It's notoriously different to write evaluatively about ambient music, owing partly to Brian Eno's dictum that the music "must be as ignorable as it is interesting." Fantasma Parastasie isn't strictly "ambient" music as Eno envisioned it, nor is it entirely ignorable. It does have that quality, however, of being beautiful in a way that allows it to fade into the background, while being detailed enough to reward those moments when it surges to the fore. In other words, I can get work done to it, but still feel like I listened to it when it's over.

The balance of sound on the album is pretty remarkable. Hecker's fondness for incorporating jagged shards of electric guitar into his own compositions is part of the source of confusion, but, really, the two musicians compliment each other perfectly. "Phantom on a Pedestal" begins with an imposing sheet of guitar feedback that's met by an equally-imposing wall of electronic sound and - somehow - the result is beauty, even as it's cacophony. Hecker's synths sound like they're emanating from the same wall of amps that Baker uses, wrapping the entire song in a warm cocoon of static cling. The rest of the pieces follow suit: "Auditory Spirits" has that distant, ringing sound that defined so many Flying Saucer Attack songs; waves of ethereal guitar feedback are slowly shifted into gentle electronic drones and back again in "Gallery of the Invisible Woman"; the subdued title track relies on gentle, low electronic tones, with guitar squall occasionally flitting to the surface. It's all of a piece and, if you're not paying attention to the progression, it's easy to miss when tracks change.

None of this communicates why the album is good. All you really need to know is this sounds like an album from the same thought-patterns that birthed Labradford and Flying Saucer Attack. It doesn't sound like those bands, but the principles are the same - shoegaze-worthy guitar roar turned into blissful stretches of soundscape, in this case with Hecker's nebulous electronics alternately modulating and subsumed into the noise. It's the sound of entropy decreasing into order, or fixed patterns bleeding into chaos. Noise and silence, power and fragility are not so much juxtaposed as they are intermingled to the point where distinguishing them from each other is impossible - an impressive display of alchemy from two masters. by Lucas Kane (theslilentballet.com)

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Voyager - Voyager

Artist: Voyager
Album: Voyager
Label: Forgotten Records
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Crushing Winds
02. Static Pulse
03. Drifter
04. Avulsion
05. Surfacing

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Voyager’s debut EP sees the Boston quintet taking on the sound of former sounds of Isis and introducing some depressive doom ala My Dying Bride in the mix. For one, the production is cleaner than most records put out by Isis and the imitators they spawned. Most notable is vocalist D. Toye’s prominence in the mix. He sounds like what would result if Aaron Turner took lessons from some of Florida’s finest death metal vocalists. If you complained about Panopticon’s submerged vocals, this EP is for you.

While most “post-metal” bands have slight tinges of the post-hardcore that they evolved from, Voyager have no such influence. Though they do indulge in slower, dreamier sections, they focus more of doomy riffs and melancholic melodies upfront. “Crushing Winds” morphs from a Celestial style track to a Crowbar wind-down jam. “Drifter” features some interesting guitar improv, but it is only a prelude to the EP’s second half. “Surfacing” is a monster of a track, building up and crashing down again and again. The final minutes of the song even bear some resemblance to Celestia before drifting off into noise. However, the cutsey chime in “Static Pulse” ruins the mood.

I would recommend this EP if you like the genre. However, it won’t get you into it if you’re not already a fan. These guys have potential. (sonicfrontiers.net)

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Maybeshewill - Not For Want Of Trying

Artist: Maybeshewill
Album: Not For Want Of Trying
Label: Field (UK & EU) / XTAL (JP) / Robot Needs Home
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Ixnay On The Autoplay
02. Seraphim & Cherubim
03. The Paris Hilton Sex Tape
04. I'm In Awe, Amadeus!
05. We Called For An Ambulance But A Fire Engine Came
06. Heartflusters
07. C.N.T.R.C.K.T
08. He Films The Clouds Pt. 2
09. Not For Want Of Trying
10. Takotsubo

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“Maybeshewill like the way it sounds, not the meaning of its constituent parts. If you're looking for meaning, you won't find any here.”

As many may have noticed recently the genre of post-rock has been in something of a decline. With many (too many) bands attempting unsuccessfully to imitate heavyweights like Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky, an area of music that was once a bustling market place of creativity has started to grow, well, stale. Leicester lads Maybeshewill have obviously noticed this. While their debut EP ‘Japanese Spy Transcript’ was a proficient exercise in the quiet-loud dynamic that has been employed by countless of nearly identical bands, this, their debut album, is different. The aforementioned quotation from the band themselves alone, “…you won’t find any (meaning) here…”, distances them from the congested post-rock herd. Post-rock is a genre that many, this reviewer included, closely associate with great displays of emotion. However, there is none of that here – at all. In some ways it is refreshing, in others it is somewhat disappointing; at the very least it is interesting.

In case you haven’t guessed yet Maybeshewill are not, I repeat not a post-rock band –at least not in the traditional sense. They have more in common with a band like Biffy Clyro, especially on the quirkily titled ‘The Paris Hilton Sex Tape’ which basically sounds like a song from the Ayrshire trio only without vocals, and a lot more interesting musically. In its three-and-a-half minute running time it moves between soaring guitars, dirty-sounding bass riffs, pretty-sounding piano riffs and spiky riffs. As with all the songs here, there is plenty of variation yet it all makes sense and doesn’t seem out of place. This is never more true than on the schizophrenic ‘We Called For An Ambulance But A Fire Engine Came’ which changes dramatically halfway through from a riff-heavy metal section to a string and piano section. From here it segues into a mild industrial electronica outro.

The use of electronics is vital to Maybeshewill’s sound as they employ it very well indeed. Whereas Texan post-rock outfit This Will Destroy You decided to overuse it on their self titled debut, Maybeshewill make subtle use of their synths and drum machines on songs such as ‘Seraphim & Cherubim’ really enhance the quality of the song. Though the song would work just as well without them they make it feel more complete and generally more enjoyable. Only on ‘Heartflusters’ do the electronics take a more central stage. The song has a much thinner texture than others and so, in this respect, offers variation. Though more noticeable is the inclusion of vocals as it is one of only two (three if you include samples) tracks that does this. Though the vocals here aren’t of the best quality as the midlands accent and general delivery isn’t too audibly pleasing, they have a sort of endearing quality which makes the track worthwhile. The only other song that includes live vocals on the album is the somewhat pretentiously titled ‘He Films The Clouds Pt. 2’. The use of a cyclic piano pattern and sparsely notated guitars is soothing and is one of the best moments on the album. It builds texturally throwing drum machines, synths and drums into the mix before eventually changing tone slightly. As the texture thins unexpectedly a choir-like gang vocal refrain enters. The warm tone of the voices is strangely reassuring and is well worth the wait, given the near seven minute running time – the longest on the album. The title track also employs vocals, well…kind of. There is a lengthy sample of Howard Beale complaining about social decline in the film ‘Network’ before telling the listeners “I want you to get mad!” as the song explodes from tense piano-riffing into an EitS ‘Those Who Tell The Truth…’ era heavy section which is possibly the most dramatic and well constructed part of the whole album.

With post-rock bands running out of fresh and original ideas Maybeshewill are a breath of fresh air. They have turned their backs on their past and really, it is for the better. ‘Not For Want Of Trying’ is a colourful, and above all, an interesting listen – one that is far more accessible than most instrumental music these days. The albums accessibility is both a positive thing and a negative. It is a good thing because obviously, it doesn’t require much effort to listen to it and enjoy it. However, ultimately it is far less rewarding as too often textures stay constant throughout and, though motifs change a lot, there is not enough noticeable variability. It is admirable that Maybeshewill have tried to make a unique album, and even more admirable that they have made such a dramatic change from their debut EP but as it turns out they have changed perhaps a little too much. However, for a debut album this is very, very good indeed and seems to indicate that Maybeshewill are capable of great things. -by Richard Craig (sputnikmusic.com)

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Ovum - Microcosmos

Artist: Ovum
Album: Microcosmos
Label: XTAL Records
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Brilliant Lies
02. Lost in Addiction
03. Zero
04. No Where Now Here
05. Reflection
06. Snowflake Butterfly
07. Astral

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At one point or another, most people who are drawn to the increasingly large selection of genres known as “post-rock” will sit down and ask themselves: what exactly is it that constitutes a post-rock band, anyway? The most immediate response will usually be a lack of vocals, but that doesn’t quite fit – many post-rock stalwarts, from Canadian A Silver Mt. Zion to Swedish Ef have a vocal presence that is critically important to their sound. Then maybe it’s the length of the songs; after all, Godspeed You! Black Emperor never wrote anything shorter than ten minutes, and most of the best Explosions in the Sky songs have lengths soaring towards the double digits. But this isn’t quite correct either: 65daysofstatic keep most of their songs under five minutes, and even long-form post-rock veterans Mogwai featured a stunning brevity on their latest effort, Mr. Beast.
No, these are not the critical elements of post-rock. The defining feature, rather, is structural innovation, and it is this which fuels the more readily observable traits of the genre. Structural innovation, among other things, means altering, morphing, or even just plain destroying the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure which so thoroughly dominates just about everything you hear on the radio. Many of these innovations are good; some are fantastic; but some leave much to be desired. It is in this unfortunate last category that the majority of Microcosmos finds itself.
Microcosmos is the debut LP by Japanese post-rock outfit OVUM. Now, writing “Japanese” and “post-rock” into the same sentence has the tendenency to send up flares amongst some readers, so I’ll go ahead and douse them right now: OVUM bares only the slightest similarity to Mono, Te’, and most other guitar-based instrumental acts from the Land of the Rising Sun with which we have become so inundated over the years. As a matter of fact, their sound is fresh and rather invigorating. Much of this is due to the band’s extremely tight rhythm section: while the guitars do sometimes grow a little stagnant, the bass and drums constantly drive the songs forward with complex and pleasing lines and grooves. Additionally, I must credit the production of this album: all of the instruments come in very clearly, and it is easy to both listen to the music as a whole and to listen to just one instrument – certainly, this is no easy task for the engineer to achieve.
But unfortunately, almost the entire album is marred by structural choices which prevent any sort of cohesion for the songs. The structure can be summed up thusly: play a rather cool little bit for about thirty to sixty seconds, then transition immediately and abruptly into another rather cool little bit, and repeat until the song decides to end. Taken individually, these song fragment are extremely enjoyable, but there is nothing that links them together. It’s not as though Ovum are leaping frantically from genre to genre á la Between the Buried and Me - rather, all of these fragments are composed in a very similar style. The thought seems to have been that since the style of the fragments is the same, they would naturally work together into one cohesive whole. Unfortunately, they do not. To be honest, the problem is so pronounced that if you were to fall asleep while listening to this record, and then wake up about fifteen minutes later, you would have no idea whether you were listening to the same track or not. Ironically enough, sharp brakes in style would actually have created more cohesion than what we are given for the majority of this album.
On the last track, however, we begin to see a glimmer of hope. “Astral” clocks in a little bit too long for it’s own good at eleven and a half minutes, but this is very forgivable in the context of the cohesion that has finally arrived. Apparently OVUM remembered to take their Adderall while the were writing this, for they manage to draw out the introduction to the song to almost four minutes, and the result is quite stunning. Moreover, all of the other sections of the song are actually connected to each other! Because of this remarkable restraint and proclivity towards exploration, “Astral” achieves what all the other tracks on Microcosmos failed to do: it can be legitimately called a true song.
The importance of structural innovation in post-rock cannot be understated. This crucial element is the lifeblood of the genre, and kudos must be given to OVUM for being willing to try something new. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work. If the segments of the tracks were connected to each other, they would be brilliant. On the other side, if they were separated by abrupt changes in style, the resulting schizophrenia could be also be hammered into a sense of cohesion. Unfortunately, the songs instead find themselves languishing in a tepid middle ground between a heightened structure and the complete abandonment thereof. “Astral” shows what OVUM is truly capable of, but the only way to enjoy the rest of them, as irony would have it, is microcosmically. (thesilentballet.com)

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God Is An Astronaut - God Is An Astronaut

Artist: God Is An Astronaut
Album: God Is An Astronaut
Label: Revive Records
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Shadows
02. Post Mortem
03. Echoes
04. Snowfall
05. First Day Of Sun
06. No Return
07. Zodiac
08. Remaining Light
09. Shores Of Orion
10. Loss

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Just attended the Athens show together with JaM at "An Live Club" and bought the new CD! Show was awesome, hope to see "God Is An Astronaut" again next year...
BUY the CD when it is out (7.11.2008), it is GREAT!

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Thursday & Envy - Split

Artist: Thursday & Envy
Album: Split
Label: Temporary Residence
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Thursday - As He Climbed The Dark Mountain
02. Thursday - In Silence
03. Thursday - An Absurd And Unrealistic Dream Of Peace
04. Thursday - Appeared And Was Gone
05. Envy - An Umbrella Fallen Into Fiction
06. Envy - Isolation Of A Light Source
07. Envy - Pure Birth And Loneliness

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To say that I’d been waiting for this with baited breath would be an understatement: Envy are simply brilliant and Thursday have always held some favour with me, even through the rocky A City By The Light Divided years. Spine-chilling album artwork and a seven-track listing of names far too long to be functional led me to a glorious conclusion: this was to be, on paper if nothing else, something new for Thursday and something typical of Envy.

As He Climbed the Dark Mountain confirms any thoughts of a new outlook on the part of Thursday: faced-paced, technical riffing intertwined with expeditious drumming makes Rickly’s trademark rasp stand out more than ever. It’s raspy again: it seems that they’ve left behind the post-production excesses of their most recent work and it really is better for it. Track two of Thursday’s four is the somewhat more experimental In Silence. With an introduction smacking of the likes of Jesu with its synthesiser-meets-droning-ambiance-of-guitars dynamic. This is like no other Thursday song released before: it’s fully instrumental and borders upon the definition of musically ‘epic’. It wondrously leads from the aforementioned droning amidst synthesisers into a piano chord-bashing exercise, only to rise again to the heights of a tremulous soundscape almost aping the work of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. An Absurd and Unrealistic Dream of Peace begins hauntingly: barely audible piano and guitars raise hairs which are only to be flattened seconds later by the violent progression of distorted guitar chords to come. Once again fast and technical, the instrumental work here is beyond simply ‘impressive’, it’s standard-setting for bands within Thursday’s peer group. Appeared and Was Gone is another instrumental song, this time with piano leading a march into the deepest of electronic noise experimentation: we climax with nothing short of sonic cataclysm. This is not typical Thursday: this is an evolved, matured Thursday; somewhat ironically looking back to their earlier works of Waiting and Full Collapse for inspiration.

Envy’s half of the split is just as impressive. An Umbrella Fallen into Fiction is as progressive as anything by Envy: a four-minute, low-key introduction mixing electronic and ‘real’ instrumentation with the soft-spoken monologue of Tetsuya Fukagawa leading to a passionate explosion of screams amidst a background of swirling guitars. And it still works. It’s still surprising. That guttural, visceral exhalation is still as passionate as it was on Breathing and Dying in this Place. Isolation of a Light Source is more direct: the pretext of an introduction is done away with and immediacy takes its place. Divine riffs cross with incomprehensibly quick drumming to form a whole which embodies the spirit of the band’s music: technical, whilst not devoid of feeling; the anguish in Fukagawa’s voice is truly discernible. Pure Birth and Loneliness takes a step back in terms of tempo, whilst providing the same softly-spoken and tremolo picked delights of Japanese rock, as well as the throat-exercises so resplendently executed. Nothing is an excess: it’s all essential, from the scream-talk dichotomy to the soft-hard ascensions of instrumentation.

This split is the best that I have heard all year, no mistake to be made about it. Through this collaboration, Thursday really have gone back to their better days, and Envy remain as consistent as they always have been. It’s thirty-three minutes of stylistic exploration by both parties, and it really shows: it’s something different from both bands’ back catalogue, and a will to play around with ideas surely only has positive connotations for the futures of both of these bands. (adistortedreality.com)

Official site - Thursday
Official site - Envy
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MySpace - Envy
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Conifer - Crown Fire

Artist: Conifer
Album: Crown Fire
Label: Important Records
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Surface Fire
02. Cruciform Empennage
03. History Of Disappointment
04. Song For Krom
05. Breathe Hold
06. Into The Gauntlet
07. Crown Fire

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Confier play psychedelic sludge metal in the same vein as Pelican and The Russian Circles, pushing heavy, wiry instrumentals to stratospheric heights. Making Crown Fire stand out, aside from its stellar musicianship, is its organic flow and Eastern-tinged flourishes. Its spiraling riffs and cyclical percussion roll on hypnotically, creating a immersing, stoner-friendly torrent of sound. Its more expansive pieces are set beside dense jams like "Song for Krom" which blends deep bass attacks a la Kyuss with celestial release.

There’s really nothing wrong with this record - its focused, intense, well produced and a fine thing to trip out to. Conifer do however sound very similar to their many rivals in the the sludge/doom metal genre, making their natural and fluid sound seem more constrained than it should. There are some attempts at experimentation, including some spacey post-rock noodling ("History of Disappointment") and even some oddball vocals towards the end of the record, but these brief moments seem somewhat forced compared to their more refined and confident performances.

While Crown Fire may not be breaking any new ground (I know, its an unreasonable expectation for this young band), its still a great piece of work that matches the tremendous energy of Isis, Pelican, Cult of Luna or whoever else is leading the post-metal pack these days. If you are already immersed in this exploding underground scene, then you should certainty check out Conifer. They are, as their name implies, one of the most organic sounding metal bands around. (therockblogger.com)

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North - What You Were

Artist: North
Album: What You Were
Label: Cavity Records
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Possibilities
02. Ghosts among us
03. I am become death
04. Falling in perpetuum
05. Intentions
06. Eidolon
07. What you were
08. Perspectives
09. Veiled in light
10. Reflections

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Having heard North described as post-rock in the vein of Pelican and Isis, I was not prepared for what I heard when I first gave their latest album, "What You Were," its first spin. Where Pelican could be described as more melodic and spacey with heavy undertones, North's latest release is very much the opposite - heavy with melodic undertones. Musically, "What You Were" does remind me very much of Pelican's recent "City Of Echoes" at times, only a little heavier with lots of added distortion and heavy, reverberating bass lines. By all accounts, the differences might have stopped there, but this instrumental band decided to feature vocals throughout the album, courtesy of Kyle Hardy and guest vocals by Rob Smith of HeavyHeavyLowLow. After adding these guttural growls of despair as vocals, the end result is considerably heavier than their previously mentioned post-rock contemporaries, however.

The shock I felt came shortly into the second track, "Ghosts Among Us," following a brief, spacey intro. "Ghosts Among Us" starts out innocently enough, with a clean guitar intro for nearly a minute before the heaviness kicks in with added guitar distortion and the vocals, which could be roughly described as a distorted growl.

Most of the album follows suit, continuing with heavy, distorted mid-paced songs, with a couple of clean, spacey tracks to break up the monotony. Unlike many other mid-paced, heavy albums, "What You Were" does not seem to tire. The droning pace is perfect for the style of music, and while some of the songs tend to blend together, the band throws in just enough tempo changes, clean guitars, and vocal variations to keep things interesting.

"Falling In Perpetuum" stands out as one of the better tracks. In addition to the heavy distortion and growls, this song manages at times to perfectly juxtapose an uplifting melodic tune with even more disparaging wails. Somehow, it works.

"Eidolon" is an interesting song, opening with a calm, somber yet optimistic tune before transitioning to a heavier, distorted riff once again. Yet the song keeps the melodic undertones of the previous tune throughout. "Eidolon" breaks from the heavier distortion several times, reverting to the calmer clean guitar parts, doing a great job of keeping the listener's attention.

Still remaining mid-paced, the album's title track sounds somewhat more aggressive and angry than those that preceded it. "Perspectives" follows - another short calming interlude - before the final behemoth of a near-instrumental song, "Veiled In Light." Clocking in at over seven and a half minutes long, "Veiled In Light" comes across as the album's epic song, switching often between heavier and clean, up-tempo parts. From the mid-point, the growling vocals are introduced, and the song starts a gradual build up of intensity, leaving the clean guitars behind entirely. The intensity seems to climax a couple of minutes before the song's end, only to restart and climax once more just before the end.

The album is finally rounded out by "Reflections" - a somber piece that would seem a peaceful ending if it weren't for the wailing, far off in the background.

I really enjoy well-executed instrumental post-rock, and Pelican has become a recent favorite of mine. However, one cannot not fault North's "What You Were" at all for having vocals. The vocals fit perfectly and give the album an entirely different feel. The end result is better than I could possibly have imagined and I look forward to North's future efforts, with or without vocals.

Highs: The entire concept of interesting melodies overlayed with heaviness, distortion and growling

Lows: As a largely mid-paced affair, some of the songs tend to blend together

Bottom line: If you are a fan of post-rock or heavy, atmospheric music, this is a must-have album (metalunderground.com)

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