A strange thing happened last month, people kept releasing great albums after my cut off date. Which is, quite frankly, rude. Now, I’m not one to hold a grudge, so you’ll find some March albums in this month’s write up, as some of these releases are far too good to skip.
This is also the blog post where I go on about shoegaze getting boring and then recommend two shoegaze albums. So brace yourself for that.
Telepathy
Transmissions
Post metal
There’s a point in some post metal band’s careers where they step back from the huge onslaught of riffs and change tack, usually slowing down and leaning into post rock. Normally it tends to be pretty disappointing but Telepathy seems to be one of the few bands to make it work.
But don’t be fooled, this mellowing out is not at the expense of the album’s heaviness. The opener, Oath is a huge sounding beast of a track and will rattle your windows. It does bear more than a little resemblance to Metallica’s Orion, but that doesn’t really matter, not when the song is this good.
Transmissions leans further into the band’s cinematic side, embracing synths and a lighter, more expansive atmosphere. But rather than diluting the band’s sound, it just makes the heavy hit harder when it arrives. Songs have more space to breathe and the dynamics work better. The band have introduced proggy synths that offset the guitars perfectly and create an extra dimension to the music.
It was only as I sat down to properly drill into the album for this review that I realised that there are two 14 minute plus songs on here that I never noticed. That’s a hell of a feat and it says a lot that I never feel the 57 minute run time, this is an album I play and just get lost in.
Transmissions sounds amazing, the production makes this record soar but the drums need a special mention here, they sound massive, and when the kick drums start it feels like an avalanche in your headphones.
I always feel a bit awkward when I say that this is a massive step up in a band’s career, especially a band that’s been around a long time, but not to put the band’s other albums down, this is the best thing Telepathy have ever written, it’s an absolute gem. This the sound of a band shooting for the stars and making it work. If you have any interest in a heavy, cinematic album, then this is a must listen for you.
https://lynkify.in/song/oath/mPMLvamS
Movement81
If infinity,
Dance / Electronica
Petite Victory Collective have somehow done it again. For a small label of like minded people across the globe, they keep throwing up great release after great release and Movement81 are another in this long line of great acts. Swansea duo Movement81 came to my attention with several great singles so I was really excited to hear their debut, and thankfully it lives up to my expectations.
Now, this isn’t a flashy album. It’s not filled with peak time bangers or head down techno action. This album is more interesting than that. If Infinity, is a grab bag of styles, Techno, house and garage rub shoulders on here, without ever causing any tonal whiplash. In fact the album feels quite restrained on the first few listens.
It’s only as it unfolds that it becomes clear just how good this record is. It’s not bangin’, but it will make you move and tracks like the techno of Chrome and garage of Whitewall make you realise how good these songs are very quickly.
The back half of the album leans to a more straightforward techno. Dark Matter reminds me of very early Orbital without actually sounding like Orbital, which is always nice to hear. The appearance of the samples from what sound like science lectures is a bit of a surprise but what would electronica be without someone being a science nerd?
This is a great album and is just getting better and better every listen, and I can’t recommend it enough.
https://lynkify.in/song/chrome/Nct81bWW
Domains
Big Eyeliner / Rapids
Post rock
Domains are a London based duo who place a slightly off kilter electronic post rock. This is their new single and it feels like they are really honing their sound.
Big Eyeliner starts off with a bass heavy but pretty standard post rock but as it goes on it adds some woozy synths down the mix before speeding up and unleashing some piano heroics that glide on top of the guitars as the track builds and builds.
Rapids is a more unusual track, leaning far more into the electronic side of the bands, warm synths and a fidgety lead synth line give more the feeling of a dramatic 80’s sci-fi film than your standard post rock fare.
Domains stand out in a very crowded genre and while it may not be for everyone, anyone looking for something a bit different in their post rock and /or is a fan of 65daysofstatic should give them a go..
Postcards
Ripe
Alt Rock / Shoegaze
While I’m going to lump Postcards into shoegaze, that doesn’t really cover their sound properly. This is alt rock / indie with shoegaze leanings and is far more interesting for it. Saying that, there’s no mistaking that the opening track, I Stand Corrected, is the best Lush song that Lush never wrote. It’s a beautiful song and easily one of my favourites of the year so far.
The third track, Poison, sounds closer to Sonic Youth when it gets noisy than a shoegaze band. It sounds huge, there’s a massive amount of space between instruments that sounds expansive and open rather than insular and claustrophobic.
The last three tracks slow things down, Angel is more like Mazzy Star than the indie rock of the album’s earlier songs, while the closer, Dark Blue is closer to a torch song than anything that’s come before it. Slowing down for your last few songs can be a big risk, it can make the album seem to just drift off into the ether but Postcards manage to keep your attention while gently bring you down for the records close.
Postcards are the kind of band that makes this blog worthwhile. I knew nothing about them before I had them recommended, so I’m delighted that I’ve discovered something that sounds so fresh and dynamic. This is how you take older styles and make them your own. This is brilliant and I’ll be amazed if it doesn’t make my end of year list.
https://lynkify.in/song/i-stand-corrected/R8MX8lvX
Echotal
Beyond the Red Forest
Folk / Post Rock
Echotal is the name artist David Rooney goes under for his latest musical project. It’s acoustic guitar led music, but it has various members of God is an Astronaut involved, as is Cellist Jo Quail, all which weaves richer sound than acoustic guitar description may have sounded.
David is interested in telling stories with his instrumental music, The Port of Missing Men is about Aberdeen, near Seattle and its horrific past. It’s a moody track but the ep has a lot more dimensions than just gloom. Beyond the Red Forest has a hopeful feel to it, while Kadira has a trad beat that lifts the album out of its slow pace. (There’s a really good Throwing Snow remix of this track that I’ll link, it’s well worth your time.)
Echotal are building themselves a nice little niche here, their first ep did this folk / post rock well and Beyond the red Forest adds nicely to the band’s discography, and adds a few more shades to their pallet. It’s going to be interesting to watch them develop further.
https://lynkify.in/song/the-port-of-missing-men/QqNNhm09
Forlorn
Aether
Metalcore
Forlorn are a band that wrap themselves in a pagan tradition describing their gigs are rituals and leaning into the natural world for their inspiration. The band play Metalcore, and are clearly influenced by the legacy of Holy Roar Records, which is only a good thing as far as I’m concerned.
After an ambient intro, Creatress launches into a blistering start, its doomy, gothic synths give the song an almost blackened feel before the clear singing arrives. It’s a sharp introduction to the band and sets the album up nicely.
The band play into their metalcore influences well but it’s songs like Keeper of the Well, with its huge choral section that makes Forlorn stand out. And while the band lean into a witchy / pagan aesthetic, this is making me think we may have some goths in disguise. Not that witchy / pagan metal can’t be goth of course…
There is some absolute filth on this album, huge sludgy passages, guttural vocals and breakneck speed that is deftly offset by much lighter sections and clean singing. And it’s that light and shade that stops the album getting overwhelming, and at twenty six minutes, Aether never outstays its welcome. This is a great debut that shows that Forlorn should have an interesting future ahead of them
https://lynkify.in/song/keeper-of-the-well/xjoLzZn4
Glare
Sunset Funeral
Shoegaze
It’s been interesting watching shoegaze going from one of the most reviled forms of guitar music to a genre where bands like Slowdive sell out the Brixton Academy and My Bloody Valentine have become an arena band. But all this has a price, and that is the glut of bands crowding the streaming platforms yelling “me too!” and the signal to noise ratio is not good.
Glare is not one of these by the numbers clones. They come at the genre from the Alt rock side of shoegaze. Whereas a lot of these newer bands get lost in the haze, Glare aren’t afraid to be a bit more focused, their guitars have bite and the band isn’t afraid to deploy them.
Saying that, the opener, Mourning Gaze, is as jangaly as it gets, but the chorus has a great punch to it, and It’s a dynamic that the band perfects across the album. 2 Soon 2 Tell may start off sounding like Slowdive but things get (relatively) heavy pretty quickly and you can hear how the live version of this is going to snap your head back. Nü Burn is a great example of mixing that softer shoegaze sound with a guitar attack reminisant of Deftones.
The band have said that the album is “for people who don’t know how to talk about how they feel.” I’m not sure about that but it’s definitely an album you can get lost in. There’s layers of gaze to lose yourself in and enough edge to the guitars to drag yourself back out.
There’s been some shocking accusations against the singer / guitarist and he has been removed from the band. I feel that ignoring such a good album is unfair on the rest of the band, so I’m still happy to recommend Sunset Funeral, because they’re making great music that stands out, and the world needs that more than ever.
https://lynkify.in/song/nu-burn/15bJLey9
And that’s me for another month!
The ways of exile 