I really wasn’t sure there was going to be another TWoE blog post, but there has been a lot of new music out there that really deserves someone yelling about, so I guess I got pulled back in.
I’ve not included acts like A.A. Williams and The Twilight Sad. I don’t have the space for them, and I’d hope a discerning reader like yourself will already be listening to them.
Also, an apology to Where We Sleep, who have released a fantastic shoegaze album, but I haven’t been able to get my thoughts on it in a coherent form to review it. It’s really good though.
Again, these are shorter reviews than normal, but I’m still not sure I’m ready to start the monthly blog back up again. Till then, here’s some music you should be checking out.
Gísli Gunnarsson
Úr Öskunni
Post rock
Once you know that Gísli is an Icelandic, neo classical composer and enjoys post rock, you should be able to picture in your head exactly what this sounds like. And you would be right.
Úr Öskunni means “from the ashes” and while there is a bleakness to the album in places, there is also some transcendent post rock that lifts the spirit with its beautiful crescendos. From the string swept opener, you can feel the classical component of the music, but it’s not until Söknuður, six songs in that the instruments build and the post rock soars.
This is a beautiful album, and it was definitely more suited to November, when it was released, but there is no reason that this can’t soundtrack a summer evening twilight.
Smallman
ОТВЪД
Folk / Prog / Post metal
It’s been 12 years since Smallman’s last album, but it’s clear from first listen that the band have been taking their time and have been working hard on developing and perfecting their sound. While their last album, Envision, was clearly indebted to Tool, ОТВЪД finds the band making more expansive music, with the band drawing further into their Bulgarian folk traditions, creating something that sounds far more unique than their previous work. Cvetan Hadzhiyski has such a distinctive voice, and delivers a strong, emotive performance, and the addition of female vocals on some of the songs really gives the album an extra dimension. But! don’t be put off by all this talk of folk, if that’s not your thing. There are big riffs here, when the band locks in, there is still a fierce sludge / post metal edge to the record.
ОТВЪД is such an impressive album. While it takes some time to unveil itself to the listener, its unusual mix of folk atmosphere and moody post metal makes it a true original, and easily one of the highlights of the year.
Brassica
Cage
Electronica
Cage is an ep that is pretty unashamedly indebted to 90’s dance culture. However, it never feels like borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties, this feels like the work of someone who understands what made that music work and he blends it all together into one, six track hit of serotonin. Mixing twinkling techno, filthy bass, house, breaks and anything else that seems to come to mind, Brassica builds the kind of ep only the very best producers can blend without it becoming a hollow pastiche.
Cage is just a perfect blend of its influences, and the entire album would be worth it for the low end on Extinction Vector alone, but as a whole, Cage is an ep begging for a sweaty club and full dancefloor.
Fågelle
Bränn Min Jord
Folk / Avant-garde
Fågelle is Swedish singer / song writer Klara Andersson, and with this album she has made a brilliant record, drawing from a myriad of musical styles. Bränn min jord melds folk, electronics, choirs, orchestration and a dash of post rock, to make a brilliant album that really stands out on its own; a beacon of creativity in a musical landscape that can be very bland. However, It is difficult to review this album without mentioning the Danish band Efterklang, their music is a clear influence here. That’s not to say this album is a mere copy though, and it is more than strong enough to stand on its own merits.
Wildernesses
Growth
Indie / post rock
Growth is yet another one of these debut albums that is far better than a new band should be able to put out. Mixing moody alt rock with post rock, the band carve out a distinctive sound that stands out from their peers. The singer’s deep voice gives the already moody music extra depth and adds a fantastic world weariness to the album. English Darkness is the album highlight and is easily one of the songs of the year.
If you are looking for a shoegaze adjacent hit of alt rock, you’ll be very hard pushed to find a better album out there.
Fainting Dreams
The Silence of Birds That Rarely Sing
Shoegaze / folk / blackgaze
The opening track showcases what the band are capable of, starting with a slow shoegaze feel, while the song slowly builds into a more chaotic drum lead piece until the screamed vocals start and the song switches to blackgaze. Track II has a droney, folk feel, while III switches between its opening assault, a tempered midsection that reverts to shoegaze, before coming back with a huge slab of post metal for the closing section.
Elle Reynolds’ vocals are the band’s not so secret weapon. They can effortlessly swing between a soft, almost folky style and unhinged screaming that reminds me of Julie Christmas. It really helps the band stand out.
This is an EP that I feel only really soars when you take it off headphones and play it loudly. The dynamic range comes into play properly and demonstrates both the fragile and the more aggressive side of the album. With the handcuffs of headphones taken off, The Silence of Birds That Rarely Sing shows that it’s easily one of the better EPs of the year.
Rupture // Rapture
Reckoner and Redeemer
Electronica
Blog favourite, Rupture // Rapture, has released two eps and an album since our last post. Rob isn’t one for resting on his laurels, but even for him this is a high turnover. Continuing R//R genre switching, Reckoner sees him turn to DnB and breaks, which combined with his melodic sensibilities make for a fantastic ep. Redeemer is a remix EP from R//R’s Spectral Flux collaborator, UJTB.
This leans into a more glitch based beats, but this doesn’t detract from the melodic gloss of the tracks, it just allows for more varied percussion. The pair work so well together that we can only hope for more new music from them in the near future.
Sloganyear
A Small Act of Agency
Prog / synth / post metal
The first thing that’s going to hit you about this ep is just how good it sounds. The guitar tone is perfect, its rich chug drives the opening track, while the production gives everything else enough space to breathe. The opener, Incantation, feels influenced by Tool, with Maynard being an obvious comparison with the vocals. The second track though, has some of Pussifer’s early electronic feel to it, but it still feels prog. Its constant rolling drums propel the song as the synths throb, providing the same intensity as the first track, just without the riffs.
This is a big change from their debut EP, which was a more unsettling electronica, but welcome one, making this a band to keep an eye on going forward.
Fall Of Messiah
Green Lands
Post hardcore / Post rock
Fall Of Messiah cross post rock with post hardcore and Green Lands ably demonstrates that both of these intense styles can work so well together.
The album opens with Tour de garde, a more post rock leaning song, quiet and building, with the usual plaintive post hardcore style vocals. It’s not until track four, Houravi, before we get to a more traditional post hardcore style, which along with tracks like Petrichor break up the prettier side of the band’s sound. The album highlight, Tour de Force features Chalk Hands, which is a nice bonus and helps ratchet up the intensity with almost blast beat drums; the track grabs the listener by the scruff of the neck before dropping back to a more sedate pace. The addition of a trumpet is always welcome.
Possibly the most impressive thing about this album is that it’s 47 minutes long and it never once drags. This is an album that blends the fast pace and energy of post hardcore with the poise and beauty of post rock to make an album that does justice to both genres.
Telepathy
Transmissions 2.0
Post Metal / electronica
Pretty much every post rock remix album is rubbish and even bands like Mogwai haven’t been able to make it work. However this Telepathy ep works, not only as a remix album, but is perfectly able to stand as its own, as an unique entity. The Tribes of Ghosts version is almost an industrial stomp, while Jo Quail’s remix of Home may feature her trademark cello, but it’s far more notable for sounding far more electronic than the original version, and features almost no guitars.
You don’t need to have heard the admittedly brilliant album that is being remixed, you can just listen to Transmissions 2.0 as one of the best electronica / guitar eps out there.
Relíquia
In Theory and Practice
Goth Metal
Goth metal tends to be far more miss than hit for some reason. For every band that does it well, Paradise Lost or Cold in Berlin, there are so many bands that just never make that alchemy work.
Relíquia, it seems, doesn’t have that problem. Blending together their love of bands like My Dying Bride and Fields of the Nephilim, Relíquia have put together a really solid debut album, heavy on atmosphere and with more than a few tasty riffs.
However, the track Bone and Shale could be a Fields of the Nephilim song, to the point that if you told me it was a new Neph song, I’d believe you. Now, this is a little cheeky, but seeing that we’re 10 years since the last Neph last released something, I’m ok with it.
While this debut may still be a bit too heavily indebted to their influences, it doesn’t stop this from being a great album that stands up with some of the best albums of the genre.
Solitone
Le champ des Possibles
Post Hardcore / Screamo
There’s something really satisfying about a record that just storms in, does what needs to be done and is gone. Le champ des Possibles is an ep that has 5 songs in 13 minutes and is just the perfect shot of adrenaline that you need in this genre of music. But as short as these songs are, each one seems to have so much space to breathe. Ideas come and go, tempos change, but none of it feels jarring, or even rushed.
This ep feels like it would be a great introduction to post hardcore, but equally as interesting to someone who already loves some shouty guitar goodness. Jump on, it’s a fun ride.
Solitone isn’t on Spotify so here’s a youtube link.
Awitw
Mind Labyrinth
Electronica
Mind Labyrinth is some more 90’s throwback electronica with it’s chilled, almost acid tinged music, similar to some of The Orb’s more beat driven sounds. It’s built with samples about occult rituals and psychedelic usage that provide a perfect mood to this atmospheric music.
This is a fun album that just burbles along, giving the listener a warm hug, and is perfect for your post club come down, or a leisurely evening smoke.
If you’ve read this far, then you’re a legend!
Till next time.
The ways of exile 