July was a very slow month for releases around the Ways neck of the woods so I decided to take the month off and concentrate on my 50 albums of all time. I’ve posted the link at the end of the page for anyone who might be interested.
As a result, welcome to the July / August edition of the Ways of Exile. Grab a seat and we’ll see if we can find something you might enjoy.
Unfortunately Songwhip is no longer working so I’m using a site called Lynkify. It does almost the same thing as Songwhip but doesn’t feature Qobuz. It will link you to the album I’m talking about on your streaming service of choice.
Jasper Tygner
Things to Come
Things have been quiet on the dance music side of things for me this summer. I know the weather has been pretty rubbish but a person needs some upbeat, joyful music either way. So thank god for Things to Come brightening up my musical corner of the world.
This EP is sunny, garage tinged, house music and it feels technicolour compared to almost everything else I’m listening to at the moment. All I Need feels like sunlight on your face. Eyes is like a more upbeat Bicep party track, and is something I’d love to hear on a dancefloor.
The EP closer, When Ur Near, is a warm and gentle hug of a song to send you off into the night with a contented smile on your face.
This is the kind of music that really makes me miss clubbing, but Things to Come will be enough to keep me going having a bit of a dance around my flat.
I need more dance music to make me smile.
https://lynkify.in/album/things-to-come/LMS41ZyA
Llyr
Dichromanticism EP
I can always rely on Max Cooper’s MESH label to deliver some great electronica. I’m never sure exactly what flavour it’s going to be, but it’s almost always worth my time and Dichromanticism proves this right yet again.
Llyr specialises in complex programming but unlike some other techno artists, they never lose sight of the goal, to get people moving. While the opening track Pareidolia, is a little cold and knotty, rhythm wise, it has all the groove you need to catch a hold of you and to take you with it.
The title track is a great slice of funky techno and it’s going to have you nodding your head embarrassingly on public transport. On the dance floor? You’re going to be throwing shapes. Big shapes.
Indelible Marks is a more heads down techno banger that kicks things up another level, while the next two tracks slow things down it doesn’t lessen the ep. It just allows you to catch your breath, enjoy the ride and leave you wondering what’s next for Llyr, because this ep is fantastic.
https://lynkify.in/album/dichromanticism-ep/6jOW3jy9
Julia-Sophie
Forgive Too Slow
And from upbeat party tunes we turn out the lights, crawl back behind the sofa and pull a duvet over ourselves. Because things have gotten dark.
Julia-Sophie has the rare honour of being one of only two acts that I’ve recommended to my readers while completely being unable to describe why her EP was great and why they should listen to it. To be honest, I should have tried harder. Anyway, this is Julia-Sophie’s debut album so I can try to make amends and explain to you properly why you should listen to this record.
It’s really great.
Ok, fair enough, I’ll try harder
Forgive Too Slow is an album of heartbreak and regret. The album’s first song, I Was Only, is a fragile track, and its refrain of “I was only falling in love with you” introduces you to the longing that fills this album. The second track, Lose My Mind, is a far more upfront song with the machines clattering and pulsing, fighting against the openers’ lethargy.
Numb feels more like something by HVOB or maybe like a darker Anjunadeep track. You can tell that this is going to kick live. Falling is delicate to begin with, and it slowly ratchets up the tension but never breaks into the dance number it teases you with. The album’s middle tracks remain on the more upbeat side of things, until Better slumps to the floor again. “You always see the worst in me” is a tough line to deliver but there is a strange machine / human hybrid at work here. The human is frail and broken but the machines just keep going, picking up the emotional side of the songs and pushing them forwards, never allowing the record to collapse under its despair.
The album closer, Telephone, is a lot more pop than I was expecting but its wistful longing fits the downbeat mood of the album, holding out some hope for a lover to contact them, but it doesn’t feel like it will ever happen.
It’s interesting to note that with just a tweak of the mix this would be a very different album. Tracks like Numb would be floor filling bangers with just a bit of a push. Forgive to Slow is more concerned with raw emotion than dancefloor filling, but the most thrilling thing here is at how deftly Julia-Sophie walks this line. Maybe it is possible to dance when you’re devastated, and with this album we’re sure going to give it a try.
https://lynkify.in/album/forgive-too-slow/fpOnyV6X
Amnesiacs
Everything is Canvas
Amnesiacs play a very chilled and very pretty flavour of post rock that calls back to the earlier works of Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky. Whereas a lot of post rock goes for the drama of crescendo, Amnesiacs takes things easy. There’s no wall of sound, no distortion assaults, just laid back tunes you can get lost in.
First Light opens the ep with some gentle piano and some shimmering guitar. It doesn’t do that much but it sets the stage nicely for the second track. Sleepwalker reminds me of Young Team era Mogwai, the soft, relaxing side of that sound. Gentle drumming and cleaning guitar picking all creating a wonderful relaxing atmosphere.
When the distortion arrives on the final song, it just wraps the guitar in fuzz, never overpowering things. It just changes the texture and gives the song more heft, letting the ep peak without ever overpowering the music that’s come before it.
Everything is a Canvas isn’t here to re-invent the genre but if you’re in the mood for some beautiful post rock this will scratch that itch nicely.
https://lynkify.in/album/everything-is-a-canvas/zMDjaYVl
Callas
Days
Days is the debut EP from Cork band Callas and should work as a great calling card to the world at large. It’s pretty obvious from the first note that Justin Broadrick’s Jesu are a the main influence on the band, but while Days isn’t the most innovative music out there, this is some damn fine doomgaze.
The songs aren’t traditional metal, you could play this EP to almost anyone, but there’s a heaviness and force behind the riffs that will blow your head off if you crank it enough
As you would expect from Jesu being an influence, this is a somewhat downbeat release. The glacial pace of the riffs and claustrophobia of the production could be a little off putting.The only release being the vocals, which sometimes feel like sunlight trying to reach into the darkness. But to be honest, if you’re reading this blog, I can’t imagine that this is going to be an issue for you.
There’s still a lot of room for Callas to expand their sound, to build more of an identity for themselves, but as a debut EP, this is a very promising release.
https://lynkify.in/album/days/WLj8JG3J
Iress
Sleep now, in Reverse
Iress’ album Flaw was one of the first albums reviewed on the Ways of Exile so I was very excited that four years later I was finally getting to hear their follow up and even more delighted that I get to feature it here.
On first listen, Sleep Now is an album that sits closer to the shoegaze side of the Gaze spectrum. That is until you turn it up and it becomes something much more forceful. The doom becomes more apparent. I feel like I say this nearly every month, but every month it catches me by surprise. Play your music loudly people! Escape your headphones, it changes everything.
The opener, Falling is a sweet song that introduces the album well. A mix of gentle vocals with the heavy guitar just lurking, waiting to be unleashed. The Remains has a great clean / filthy dynamic, while In Reverse has a satisfying heaviness that shows off Iress’ doomgaze edge. There’s some chunky riffs under all that sweetness, that’s best demonstrated by Knell Mera, the heaviest song on the album.
The band’s not so secret weapon is Michelle Malley’s vocals. Her sweet voice belays the incredible power it has when she lets it fly. It’s really impressive and having seen them at Arctangent festival, I’m happy to say it’s jaw dropping live.
This is another great addition to the Iress discography, a beautiful album but one with teeth, and I really, really hope they make it back to the UK sometime soon.
https://lynkify.in/album/sleep-now-in-reverse/wnHqQW4F
Copse
MMXXIV
As I’ve reviewed both of the eps that have been compiled together for this release, I’m not going to go into much detail about it here. More because of time than anything else, but if you haven’t discovered Copse before this is a fantastic place to start. They’re a melodic black metal / blackgaze band from Bristol and despite only having this release under their belt, they are already at a world class level.
So long story short, you need some very pretty, yet still really heavy music in your life? Start here. You can also enjoy the irony of me recommending you a 14 minute track after my years of bitching about long songs.
That’s how good this album is.
https://lynkify.in/album/mmxxiv/eMgtU6HD
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