The summer is starting to take hold and on the Ways of Exile we were hoping for some old fashioned dance bangers to bring us into the season. That’s not what happened at all, but we do have some amazing new music for you, it’s just not that upbeat. So close the curtains and turn this lot up.
Nvage
Nvage ep
Noise rock / post punk / post metal
I’m not sure if there’s something in the water in France at the moment or if it’s just the bands I’ve been getting exposed to, but Nvage are another really impressive French act who are making really interesting, really abrasive music.
This debut ep is just blistering and the opening track, Saviour, is pure filth. It’s noise rock and post metal coming together to melt your face off. Everything is distorted except the drums, which are too busy assaulting you to need distorting. It packs such a huge punch and is a hell of an opening throwdown from the band.
The ep effortlessly transitions into In Here, which crosses post punk with post metal as the band start to add more dynamics to their sound. Come Alive feels more like desolate post punk or goth (It’s the same thing isn’t it?) until it collapses into noise under the weight of its own heaviness.
And from here on we’re back to the EPs aggressive side and once again mired in filth. Blind Eye touches on the caustic guitar sounds of Big Black, while Haunted slips into the sonic desolation of Godflesh. And it’s everything you could hope that would sound like.
It’s amazing that a duo can kick up this much noise with just a six string bass and a drum kit but Nvage have really staked out their intent with this ep. They hit hard and for a band that is only getting started, this is incredible work.
https://lynkify.in/album/nvage/lJHJvgHc
bow church
Unknown Realms
electronica
I first came across bow church with his last album, These Forests Are Older Than Your Gods and fell in love with it. It was one of my albums of the year 2020 so I was really excited for the release of Unknown Realms. I was looking forward to more of that Witch Housey dance music that had enthralled me so much. And to my surprise, this was something very different. Unknown Realms still has that spooky dark charm, but this isn’t an album for dancing to. It took a few listens to get my head around the change in tone, but it became clear pretty quickly that this is a great record.
Unknown Realms is about mood, first and foremost. Just have a look at the cover and you can see the vibe the album is going for straight away, the forest and the neon gateway. The album is asking you to step though and go on a journey, into unsettling yet fantastic places.
The first track proper, Union arrives with huge synths, vocal cut ups and the most amazing witch house vibes I’ve heard in years. It’s a track to stand and sway to as you lose yourself to it. As you get to the back end of the album the tension really starts to ratchet up. The crushing synths on Obelisk are doom filth and deliver massive amounts of dread. The slow acid on Rift drags you along like an undertow. Idols is good and spooky with its Gregorian chant synths setting the mood on a track that reminds me of Brown Album Orbital, before it goes full witch house to close the album out. A final release to all the pressure the record has been building.
As I said, Unknown Realms was a bit of a shock on the first few listens, but once I knew where the album was going, what it’s mood was, I could lose myself in it and realise just how great an album this is.
https://lynkify.in/album/unknown-realms/ca4pxtzB
Mogwai
The Bombing of Pan Am 103
post rock
It’s not that surprising that a band like Mogwai would have a side hustle in soundtracks, but what is surprising is just how good their hit rate is. Several of their soundtracks are every bit as good as their main releases, and even though Hollywood may not have come knocking, Mogwai are consistently delivering great music to almost everything they touch.
As that title will no doubt suggest, this is somber stuff, with the band building atmosphere like the champs they are at this kind of post rock. However, A little piece of Scotland sounds more like 65days than Mogwai but that change of tone lifts the album’s mood nicely and adds some welcome variety to the proceedings.
There is a little bit of repetition starting to creep in though, Remurdered and Helicon echo through some of these songs but after the disappointment of The Bad Fire, this album is a welcome return to form from the ‘Gwai.
https://lynkify.in/album/the-bombing-of-pan-am-103/ckUUzlcz
Yard
Yard ep
industrial techno
Yard have only put out a few singles so far, and come out swinging with this debut ep. The opening track Trevor, a moody bruiser of a track that, despite having some silly lyrics, still manages to hit hard.
The second track, Appetite, leans into the band’s more melodic side, with the vocals coming to more to the fore. The third track, Slumber is a full on techno banger that could be dropped onto any seedy nightclub dancefloor and the place would explode.
How will Yard combine both of these two styles going forward? Move vocal focused or more dance floor filler? Just bigger bangers? I’m not sure, but I’m very excited to find out.
https://lynkify.in/song/trevor/tNay0TMT
Slow Mass
Low on Foot
indie/folk/shoegaze/other stuff
Sometimes you come across a band that on first pass you’re not sure of. They aren’t really your thing, but there’s something there, something that gets it hooks into you and brings you back, again and again, until you can’t even remember why you were unsure about the record in the first place. Low on Foot is definitely one of those albums.
This is a record stuffed with styles, 90’s alt rock, slowcore, folk, some post hardcore and a dash of shoegaze, and it’s to the band’s credit that it all fits together so effortlessly. The album opens up with the gentle indie folk of NoNoNoNo, all soothing vocals and hushed playing but as we get into the album, things start to get a bit heavier.
Grifter uses its gentle male / female vocals perfectly and has a satisfying noisy end, while Blur is almost a post rock song. But that’s not all the band has to offer, there are some unexpected twists on the album. Hell is Earth is much heavier and atonal than anything else on here and At Blame feels like post hardcore. Which makes sense as the band describe themselves as a post hardcore band, but apart from these two songs, I don’t see it. If anything this album reminds me of Scottish cult legends, The Delgados, which is more than a little unexpected.
Low on Foot is a very pretty album (mostly) that just sits on the edge of where I live musically. But, where I would normally shy away from the lighter styles on the album, LoF never lets my attention wander and that is a far more impressive task than it sounds.
https://lynkify.in/song/grifter/TL0nRn1k
Rupture // Rapture
Evolve
garage
R//R is back with more lush garage. This three track ep just glides in provides some slinky music for you to vibe with and gets out just as fast.
Apricity may be the best R//R track since his pivot to garage. The strings along with the several different layered vocals shimmer, while that deep bass is just so rich sounding. The closer, Bismuth gives Apricity a run for its money with a beautiful synth line that repeats through the track, carrying you along in a haze of cut up vocals and enveloping bass.
R//R is incredibly prolific but yet again we have a winner as he drops another great ep.
https://lynkify.in/song/apricity/slpBKEeh
Swallowtail
The Seesaw ep
shoegaze
SwallowTail are yet another new shoegaze band, boldly stepping into the limelight in one of the most oversaturated genres out there today. And it’s fair to ask what makes them any different from the seemingly thousands of other bands out there.
First of all they’re not a clone band. They have their own sound and aren’t trying to ape anyone else. Influenced? Yes, ripping off? No. Secondly, their production is really clear, everything is crisp, and even though there is a lot of distortion in places, nothing gets lost in the mix.
The singer, Katie Prescott, is the band’s not so secret weapon. She holds her place in the music, putting the focus on her voice more than the guitars, which is a very unusual move on a shoegaze ep. That being said, the music is great as well. To Trace is a much faster paced song than you get in this genre and it really livens up the ep. Seesaw is a beautiful, gentle song with a touch of Slowdive about the guitars and is carried by Katie’s amazing vocal performance.
This is yet another brilliant debut. It seems like shoegaze is far from done with new bands of this quality coming up.
https://lynkify.in/song/seesaw/uoSGNnrv
I never even had time to talk about how good that Mclucky album is. Sad times.
Till next month.
The ways of exile 