65days were a band who grabbed me from the first listen, their combination of electronics and post rock shouldn’t have sounded so revolutionary, but their debut album just blew my mind. The attack of Retreat! Retreat! just left me wondering just how no one managed this sound before and left me wondering why the rest of the world wasn’t catching up to this. (It was only when writing up the album http://www.Pitchshifter album for No.34 that I realised there is a comparison to be made between the two bands, but I suspect 65 wouldn’t thank me for.)
It says a lot for a band when I have this much trouble picking which one of their albums to feature here. They’ve four that could easily go on this list, but after a lot of very enjoyable re-listening, I’ve decided to go with WWEA. While the first 3 albums are electronica fused post rock, this is something mutated, something made to make you move your body, rather than stroke your chin.
We Were Exploding Anyway starts with 65 business as usual. The great mix of guitars and electronics you’re expecting, but with a much higher energy level. By the time Dance Dance Dance arrives, it’s becoming obvious that the band aren’t going to slow down and this is getting a lot closer to a techno album than a post rock one.
Everything about this album just exudes energy. There’s no hiding in the shadows here, no moody soundscapes. If grabbing life by the scruff of the neck and running for the ever expanding horizons of possibility had a soundtrack, this would sound like this. I mean, just look at this cover. Just so much more passion and joy, let alone colour than pretty much any other post rock band has ever shown.
The electronics, combined with a drummer who is a one man tornado, is one of the most propulsive things I’ve ever heard. This is breathtaking stuff, exhilarating in the best way, like being too wired, but it’s ok. You can handle it because that’s just how the night is going, there’s no safe way out of this, things have gotten out of hand. You just have to strap yourself and feel the Gs.
Just play Weak4 and see what I mean.
The album highlight, Tiger Girl is their attempt to write an Underworld song and it’s everything I could have hoped for. There’s a live version of it from Berlin in the comments.
They stopped playing Tiger Girl live because they said that it’s all build and doesn’t actually go anywhere, but my brothers, neither does Rez. Strap it to 65’s Cowgirl equivalent and you’ll be carried shoulder high across the planet by the humanity that you raised to a higher plain through your music.
I promise. (I may have gotten a little over excited there.)
I thought this was the album that was going to make 65 huge. I think they thought the same but life is shit sometimes and while WWEA was well liked the band retreated back to something that sounded more like their first three albums for their next release. It’s a pity, I would have loved to see where the band would have gone from here, but that’s not how things have panned out.
The band may have seen this album as a Hail Mary, if the title is anything to go by, but it’s always worth shooting for the stars, especially if it produces albums like this.
(If you don’t know what Rez or Cowgirl are, don’t worry. We’ll be talking more about those songs at a later date.)
https://lynkify.in/song/tiger-girl/8nR8v7sy
https://songwhip.com/65daysofstatic/we-were-exploding-anyway
The ways of exile 
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