Thankfully things have slowed down this month. I’m still finding albums from October that I’d missed (and have included some of them here) This month post rock got its claws back into me. I was almost clean, had almost put the delay pedals away but it’s back. Luckily electronica was here to save me from too much guitar music.
This is going to be my last monthly round up this year. The December post will be my end of year list, which I need to get started on. I’ll combine December with the January post. It’s probably just going to be Leftfield anyway.
Daniel Avery
Ultra Truth
(electronica)
I’ve been a big fan of Daniel for a while now, but his albums have always left me a bit cold. I’m not sure what the changed with Ultra Truth but this album hit me like a ton of bricks.
The opening track is simply a short piano refrain, distorting until it dissolves into a low fuzz. It’s a strange opener but works to cleanse your pallet from whatever you were listening to before.
It’s the third track, Walls of Sleep, before the pace starts to pick up. HAAi provides the vocals for this floor filler, whose breakbeats kinda remind me of Pearl’s Girl by Underworld. In fact, Underworld’s influence shows up on a few of the faster tracks on this album, but that’s no bad thing in my book.
There’s a lot more to this album than its bangers though, Near Perfect sounds like trip hop shoegazers, Bowery Electric, Chaos Energy sounds like a chill out track until the bass comes crashing as it tries to lay waste to your eardrums. Lone Swordsman is Avery’s touching tribute to his friend Andrew Weatherall and has a lovely Smokebelch feel to it.
It’s unusual for me to enjoy albums that have this much of a mix of chilled and big dance numbers. It takes a lot to stop me skipping the slow songs but this is a perfectly measured album that guides the listener through the length of the album, never lost my attention.
Sunda Arc
Night Lands
(Electronica)
The first question you have to ask yourself approaching this album is just how do you feel about the Clarinet? Because Sunda Arc love it, If you don’t, you should probably just leave now.
Which is an unusual thing to say about electronica but the two members that make up Sunda Arc are also in jazz band Mammal Hands and there is some musical bleed through between the acts.
Night Lands is yet another lockdown album but instead of wallowing in the darkness like some other acts, this is fighting it. You can feel the claustrophobia but you can feel the band resisting, the electronics are closed in on themselves, almost paranoid. Skittering percussion gives way to some post dubstep bass but it’s the wind instruments that make this record stand out. They invoke empty spaces and hint of exotic locations.
The album feels like the soundtrack to a journey never taken. There is a light, almost jazz feel to the album with the clarinet that is the main star of the album, giving an almost 80’s noir soundtrack feel to the music. It feels like it should be scoring high contrast images with razor sharp shadows, strange locations and nefarious people.
The penultimate track, Ritual, is the fastest paced track on the album. Built from what sounds like chopped up Arabic chants before the bass takes over. It propels the listener forward, like an escape from the claustrophobia that came before it, giving a welcome escape from the building tension.
Night Lands is an unusual album but perfect for dark evenings and moody gatherings.
Ef
We salute you, you and you!
(post rock)
Ef were one of the first bands I discovered on Myspace, a very long time ago, but they fell out of my music rotation a long time ago. Seeing this album release pop up, I decided to check out the album for old times sake. But 2006 was a long time ago and I’m not much of a post rock fan anymore so I had no idea what to expect.
I wasn’t expecting this. We Salute is a great album. It’s self assured and carefully side steps most of the cliches that have run the genre into the ground.
The fantastically named Wolves, Obey!, walks the line between indie and post rock with beautiful strings and dramatic brass, there are sections of Hymn of… that you could waltz to, but it’s the closer, Chambers, that grabbed my attention.
Its opening piano and strings build tension until the song suddenly pivots, effortlessly becoming an orchestral jazz number, somehow without it being jarring.
This is such a self assured and confident album, it’s a joy to hear them twist a formulaic genre in new and interesting ways while keeping their ability to make beautiful music.
Jambinai
Apparition
(post rock)
Jambinai are a Korean post rock band that mix traditional Korean instruments with the more traditional guitars and drums. It’s a really interesting fusion of instrumentation. While the songs have a standard post rock dynamic, the additional instruments add such an unusual texture it really makes Apparition stand out from its peers. It can be quite dissonant, and in places it is surprisingly heavy but the band carry the musical fusion off effortlessly.
There are some interesting touches, From the Place Been Erased, has a blues riff that could be on a Band of Skulls buried way down in all the noise, Until My Wings Torn to Ashes has some fantastic breakneck drumming. This is an ep that will keep you on your toes.
It’s as interesting as it is fun and that is a rare combination. If you’re looking for something a bit out of your comfort zone that will challenge and reward you, Apparition is definitely recommended.
Rupture // Rapture
Abandon
(melodic techno)
Probably surprising no one, Rupture // Rapture’s new ep gets the Ways of Exile thumbs up. Rob’s quality control is as impressive as his productivity, because he’s just churning out great new techno.
Like most techno these days he seems to be sliding more to the trance side of the genre but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as you keep the right side of cheese those trance synths can be incredible. Some of Abandon has a bit more grit than R//R’s usual MO. Maybe his work as Spectral Flux left a bit of an edge but it’s a welcome development. Full Hype Drop lives up to its name and could crush dance floors.
I keep going on about it but I’m amazed that R//R has delivered yet another great melodic techno ep, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Albums that I missed in October
Psychonaut
Violate Consensus Reality
(prog rock)
Violate Consensus Reality a modern heavy prog album that embraces the 70’s prog mood. While the singing is mostly clean, there are some great harsh vocals that really add heft to the music. There’s fantastic heavy riffing, mixed with great drumming but it never comes off as wanky, everything is in service of the song and the album is much better for it. You’d never think that they were a three piece listening to them, the album has such a huge sound and it just carries you away. It’s also worth pointing out that Colin H. Van Eeckhout from AMENRA and Stefanie Mannaerts from BRUTUS guest on vocals on the title track to great effect.
VCR is probably on the edge of how much prog I can deal with, but this is an album I’m more than happy to push my boundaries with.
Desbot
Pass of Change
(post rock)
Desbot is the side project of the bass player for NZ post rock band Jakob. Now, if you know Jakob, they’re not afraid of some low end so it’s impressive just how much more old mate here can squeeze out of his amp.
Pass of Change sets up its stall pretty quickly. The opening track, Moonlit Forest, is a nicely chilled track, but it has enough low end to rattle your windows. There’s no let up as the album unfolds, this is bass led post rock that feels somewhere between Jakob and God is an Astronaut’s slower side. Vangelis synths rub shoulders with wah pedals as the tension builds.
In fact it’s half way into the album before the big riffs arrive but they’re well worth the wait.
This is a hell of an album. There’s huge riffs, bass drones, ambient bits, all of which are perfectly sequenced. The album ebbs and flows without ever losing your attention. The only warning I’d give is that this is almost two different albums depending on how loudly you play it, so, just crank the volume and let your flat shake. I’m sure your neighbors will love it as much as you will.
The ways of exile 