Swallow The Ocean - Swallow The Ocean

Artist: Swallow The Ocean

Album: Swallow The Ocean

Label: Forgotten Empire Records

Year: 2008

Tracklist:

01. Sirens Mourning
02. Amphibian
03. Dancing Upon A Sunken Vessel
04. Latitude
05. Archive
06. Hands Folded, Eyes To The Sky
07. Sink Or Swim
08. It's Safe To Sleep Now

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The instrumental and stoner/sludge musical arena isn’t a crowded one but its got its own number of very big fish. Guys like ISIS, Neurosis, and Sleep have laid down the very foundation that makes much of this genre what it is today, and for the most part, still drive it. Epic songs full of atmosphere, musicianship, depth, amazing sounscapes, and blow-your-mind riffs. Yorktown Heights’ own Swallow the Ocean enter the genre with gauntlets thrown and full of confidence. And for damned good reason: their debut is heavy and extremely atmospheric. They’re listed as “atmospheric sludge” on Metal Archives, whatever that is. Whoever categorized them as that forgets that most bands in this genre can have that very same title and not be sludgy at all.

Their self-titled debut Swallow The Ocean is insanely heavy. Pounding riffs, soundscapes as big as the Grand Canyon, insightful lyrics. The album weighs in at barely over 27 minutes over 8 tracks, not nearly enough time to wrap your head around these guys and their sound. Their lyrical focus is apparently Christian although, I’ve paid less attention to the lyrics themselves and more how the vocals meld seamlessly into the music as a whole. It shows that they’ve taken great care in crafting their sound while not trying to sound like imitators of ISIS or Neurosis which undoubtedly will happen in this genre — it happens to almost every band playing this atmospheric heavy epic metal.

But how does it sound?

Awesome, that’s how. The album starts off with a 19 second instrumental intro, fairly standard for albums like this. Then you’re straight off into track two, Amphibian. Starting off on the right foot, it’s a pounding guitar riff sweetly laced with bass drum and heavy bass. Bass heavy enough that you’re hearing the strings hit, this isn’t something you get everyday as most bands back filter bass lines to simply be a part of the overall rhythm or timing but not these guys. Will Zuconni is a fantastic bassist, we need more guys like him. Amphibian’s lyrical focus is an interesting one. The song starts out about men evolving into amphibians and growing gills and becoming one with the ocean then starts off into ascendancy to Heaven but being turned away, probably because man grew gills. It sounds like a devolution story to atone for sins, but man seems to not want to go (ed. - I’ve gotten a note from Rory in STO that the lyrics are not Christian in nature as I originally had written) But the music, it’s amazing. Throbbing bass the entire time, spotlighted in the bridge segue halfway through, and a monotone but driving lead guitar rhythm. This is a great way to start an album if you ask me, it pulls no musical punches instrumentally and widens the soundscape during the bridge with a beautiful synth piece that’s backgrounded.

Track three, Dancing Upon A Sunken Vessel, starts out with some mournful bells and sounds much like an old wharf or dock may, lending to the overall theme of the band’s name and their oceanic premise. They then interlace the bells more and more with guitars and high hats, ramping up to the song itself. This song continues track two’s heavy but almost somber feel with heavy riffs and non-stop high hat action, intermixed with some serious blastbeats that are set further into the soundscape’s background. Vocal styles sway from typical growls to some heavy/soft mixes. For the song’s laid back mid-tempo, it all works. The song gives you a feeling of the ebb and flow of the ocean itself, segues slowing you down as you ebb back and forth from heavy riffing and throbbing bass. The next track Latitude continues this formula by actually continuing the previous song’s outro with a reverse mix and a shrill continuation of a high chord, it’s a short segue track to number 5. I would say that Sink or Swim ramps up the tempo but it’s a solid mid-tempo song spotlighted with a great drum-centric intro straight into heavy vocals and the same/similar guitar riff that’s been a constant current throughout the previous tracks. There’s a definite pattern to the songs but I wouldn’t say they’re formulaic but I can see that Swallow The Ocean planned these songs as a continuous listening session, something that takes a lot of balls and planning.

After track two, Amphibian, it seems like the lyrics of each successive song revolve around a never-ending battle with Satan and/or sin. However, the lyrics of Sink or Swim seem to revolve around the lack of a savior but choosing to roaming the sea floor for eternity. Since I don’t have a printed sheet of the lyrics around and Amphibian’s lyrics are the only ones officially published, I’m taking guessing at lyrical themes here. I would’ve gone for a more Leviathan/Kraken villain but that may be too cliche for this nautical-themed album.

Hands Folded, Eyes to the Sky, track seven, is definitely the most laid back track on the album. For about two minutes. Then it’s back into pummeling riffs and the heavy high hat action although the bass lines have definitely taken a bigger backseat in the latter half of the album. Fast forward to about 4 minutes and you’re treated to more up-tempo guitars where the band really shines on the culmination of the entire album, it’s definitely a climax that you’d want to leave the listener with. Huge riffs with vocals all over the place, they lay it all on the line in their oceanic battle. The final track, It’s Safe To Sleep Now, is the somber and appropriate outro to an album that never gets too fast and heavy but stays right in the middle of too slow and face-shredding fast. Two blissful minutes of synths and feedback.

Overall, the musicianship on this entire album is astounding for a young band. This post-metal progressive sound melded with a great theme envelope the listener, giving them an idea of what a bad ass metal ocean may sound like at any given time. They’ve got a huge sound that lacks a lot of distortion or feedback but still manages to sound huge, tsunami huge. Great segues with slow and cool to blasting riffs that never teeter too far on the speed gauge. If you’re a fan of guys like Rosetta (and you damn well should be) or ISIS, you will pick up Swallow The Ocean’s self-titled debut from Forgotten Empire Records and feel right at home sonically. I highly recommend this album. -by bnnbn.com

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East Of The Wall - Farmer's Almanac

Artist: East Of The Wall
Album: Farmer's Almanac
Label: Forgotten Empire Records
Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Meat Pendulum
02. Winter Breath
03. Century Of Excellence
04. Switchblade Knife
05. Clowning Achievement
06. Unwanted Guest I
07. Unwanted Guest II
08. I Am Crying Non Stop Hysterically

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Think of your favorite hole-in-the-wall venue. Most likely you have one in mind, usually a place you have to access by way of a dirt parking lot in the rear of some dilapidated building. If you’re really lucky you know of a nearly-collapsed house or something that needed condemning years ago. Graffiti splashes the walls indiscriminately and musty sagging couches are placed randomly in case someone needs to pass out in the midst of the chaos typical of the place. This is the type of establishment where I imagine New Jersey’s East of the Wall thrives while attempting to do damage with sound waves.

Based on my experience with the band’s debut LP Farmer’s Almanac, I love to imagine the experience of seeing them live. For a band this newly established, there is no doubt a small hometown crowd of close friends and fellow rock hooligans whom they can count on to raise hell at local gigs. Elsewhere though, they’ll be booked at the type of scumbag den of iniquity described above. The beauty of these places is that everyone who shows up might not know who the band is that night, but regardless, they’re ready to throw down. Small groups of friends trickle in prepared for anything, tall boys have been ordered in advance for people after phone calls to confirm their arrival. East of the Wall sneaks equipment in through the back door, deceivingly quiet given the army of guitars they will soon unleash on the increasingly drunk crowd of rabble that has shown up that night.

The band makes very loud and very skilled instrumental noise. The immediate comparison I would make is a mix of Les Savy Fav with '90s math rock extraordinaire Faraquet. There might be some confusion here, as it’s an odd marriage. The two don’t share much in common, but they do both have a very skilled and fast paced style; the only difference (which Farmer’s Almanac very aptly picks up) is LSF’s ability to spit fire and brimstone while maintaining a catchy style. Every track on the album is simply "Track [Number]" in title, which doesn’t detract from the album’s punch somehow. East of the Wall makes a talented brand of throaty spit-and-scream metal, a fast paced rush of very talented high-speed guitars over thundering drums and a crunching baseline. I can picture the moment the lights go out and the band slaps their strings to create the album-opening wave of ambient noise, hinting at the mayhem to come.

As Track Two thunders in, the band’s intentions become clearer. The wall of sound lasts a few seconds before the Faraquet comparisons become obvious. For several tracks the band alternates epic clashes of guitars and drums with sudden changes of pace into math-rock styled guitar solos. There is no central structure, no "chorus" or "verse." The band charges through transition after transition with a method that implies madness but screams of practice and talent. At times the sound is very much like the more instrumental aspects of mid-'90s dischord bands. Several tracks into the album, the group finds its footing, trading in some of the more capable and calculating guitar/drum riffs for a more adrenaline-based ferocity. At these points I picture the crowd at any given show getting restless. They’ve heard the intro and loved the punctuated fast-paced guitar exchanges. Track Three introduces a mood shift, and with bottom-shelf tequila and that-night’s-special-beer, any below-ground venue would start seething. Even on first listen, anyone will notice that Track Three is a standout, a blister-paced and draconian-sounding mash of dark energy. This is the track with the explosive parts during which people would start to lose their shit as the drinks get caught up with the raw energy of the band. People begin hurling themselves around with eyes closed and arms flailing, beers start hitting the roof after being haphazardly thrown in a fit of emotion. East of the Wall are best suited for this exact moment, they excel at drawing out that peak-of-a-solo mood and transitioning into something even angrier rather than downshifting.

The only downside of the album is exactly what would make it great to see played live. So talented and ferocious are some of the sounds on the album that the listener sometimes feels out of place while walking along or driving down the road. This is music meant to be experienced in a drunken fit, sweat and spit flying everywhere. You want to see the two friends everyone calls Thing 1 and Thing 2 dramatically heaving their empty Mickey’s Malt Liquor ‘grenades’ at the wall as people are slammed into the stage at the feet of so much energy. You can’t replicate this in your home, however, and that’s the weakness of the album. It’s the kind of weakness East of the Wall should be proud of. - by Brendan Kraft (thesilentballet.com)

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Hotel Hotel - The Sad Sea

Artist: Hotel Hotel

Album: The Sad Sea

Label: Silber

Year: 2008

Tracklist:

01. From Harbour

02. The Dirac Sea (Low Tide)

03. Mary Celeste

04. Equator in the Meantime

05. The Shoreline Disappeared

06. The Dirac Sea (High Tide)

07. The Captain Goes Down with the Ship (Sinking)

08. The Captain Goes Down with the Ship (Drowning)

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‘The Sad Sea’ is the long awaited sophomore album from Texas post rockers Hotel Hotel. Formed in 2005, the band released their acclaimed debut ‘allheroesareforeverbold’ before their drummer, and the real force & mastermind behind the bands formation, mysteriously disappeared at La Guardia airport on April 11, 2007; not having been seen since. You might think that this episode cast an aura of disillusion over the remaining members and you’d be right- with the band going on a year-long derailment. A chance meeting with a guy dressed up as a sailor who was on an expedition to discover the real “Marie Celeste” convinced them to sign up to the adventure and glory to be had on the high seas and the rest is history.
The ‘Sad Sea’ vividly documents the tale of this fateful voyage from Galveston, Texas to the coast of Haiti during the thick of hurricane season. Sprawling compositions see swathes of acoustic, reverb-drenched ambience form a captivating blanket of sound that washes over the ears with the dynamic buoyancy of a stirring ocean illuminated by moon-light. Patience is the key to carving out an epic and emotionally unhinging soundscape and patience is a quality Hotel Hotel demonstrate in spades. They painstakingly work their instruments up to vibrant crescendos and then reign them back in just as meticulous fashion, but unlike the more popularized chief’s of the post-rock movement that crystallize such bursts of energy within single tracks, Hotel Hotel do this on an album-wide scale.
Never brash or hasty, the group perfects the art of elongating tones in a way that wrings out every last drop of emotional resonance. Within such deep and spacious sonic tapestry’s, twinkling melodics shimmer quixotically over a molasses of gloomy deep-set drones, eerie atmospherics and vertebral percussion. After a dreamy start laden with drifting ambience and hazy sonics, proceedings burst into life during ‘Marie Celeste’ as the friction of industrial textures start to engage with ominous atmospheric tones. It is very much like a solitary vessel has journeyed into the deep abyss of the ocean and has been greeted by a storm cloud from which escape is in the hands of the gods. Follow-up, ‘Equator in the Meantime (black Sabbath)’ is testament to the ultra engaging dynamics of Hotel Hotel wherein they form a shroud of melancholic sound in the vein of an opulent Grails meets Explosions in the Sky at their most introspective. A grandiose cinematic swirl is whipped up to envelop listeners like a whistling wind whilst reflective yet haunting melodic tones tinged with a sense of romantic desperation provide a deep and entrancing mysticism. The whole package bobs and sways on a super dense and emotional current that moves across subtle but nevertheless entrancing peaks and valleys. The poignancy of closer ‘the captain goes down with the ship (drowning)’ showcases the crux of the bands abilities to carve out powerful messages through sound. Being a perfect encapsulation of the albums mystical and entrancing nautical theme, the group strike at the very fabric of the anguish and hopelessness of being caught out at sea-weaving through a repertoire of meticulously crafted micro-crescendos in which melodious tones shimmer with a wry energy as deeply textural tones and military percussion play out beneath.
Across its 8 tracks, ‘The Sad Sea’ proves to be a tangibly executed, cinemascope soundscape to an unmade film- its dulcet tones narrating a story of suffering, solitariness, anxiety and deep pensiveness but with a shimmering veneer of hope that prevails throughout. If you are after top-draw ‘real’ post-rock that shuns the immediacy of more commercially minded bands in favour of a brand of subtle progression that has melancholic and morose characteristics deeply intertwined within its rich sonic texture, then ‘The Sad Sea’ is for you. (KS)
For fans of: Grails, EITS, Godspeed, Esmerine. -by (experimusic.com)

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Kontakte - Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies

Artist: Kontakte
Album: Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies
Label: Drifting Falling
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Pacific Coast Highway
02. Motorik
03. Ghosts Of Electricity
04. Life's Road Movies
05. Sterile World
06. Two And A Half Thousand Miles
07. Pacific Coast Highway (Twelve Remix)
08. Motorik (Matt Bartram Remix)
09. Ghosts Of Electricity (Electric Loop Orchestra Remix)
10. Life's Road Movies (Winterlight Remix)
11. Sterile World (Polysicness Remix)
12. Two And A Half Thousand Miles (Oppressed By The Line Remix)

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Named after Stockhausen’s experimental work, Kontakte have begun to put my faith back in the post-rock genre just as it started to wane. They make songs and sounds with sweet melodies that swirl around your brain without becoming annoying. They know when to pick it up and change it so that the formulas make you want to tune in without turning off. Admittedly, some of Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies is a bit familiar, but it’s recognisable in a comforting and reassuring rather than mundane or predictable way.

Plus they’re a brave lot as the second half of the album is a remixed repeat of the first - with the remodelling coming from a host of Drifting Falling label-mates (clicky). I say brave as some of the remixes verge on outdoing the originals. This is especially the case with the two below: Electric Loop Orchestra’s reworking of ‘Ghosts of Electricity’ has definitely got the potential to send you psychotic with its weird reversals; and the Winterlight remix of ‘Life’s Road Movies’ is utterly beguiling and beautiful and could well be one of my tracks of the year. Listen to both loud.

People, this is really very good.

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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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