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Alice In The Cities have been one of our favourite bands since the inception of Merchants Of Air,
appearing twice in live reviews, once in an interview and now for a second time in our reviews section. Soon they will appear again, when we cover the Dunk! Festival, but now their first full-
length is available and we can't miss out on that. This trio from Berlin, Germany, has done it again. This is an album with a very distinct own sound which is so beautiful.
Some of the tracks ('Valencia' and 'Zagreb') from their previous e.p. have been re-recorded and supplemented with brand new ones. These new songs have a similar sound and the same gentle warmth. 'Odessa', which I remember from live performances, is a perfect opener, immediately showing what Alice In The Cities stands for, modest instrumental rock songs with a minimal but highly atmospheric approach. This is a solid piece of 'cinematic post rock', as someone tagged their music.
The great thing about Alice In The Cities is that their music sounds as friendly and unpretentious as the bandmembers themselves. They're music lovers who play their instruments with a smile on their faces and they're perfectly capable of transmitting that joyful sentiment to the audience, even on CD. There are several elements of post-rock but that tag is being given to most instrumental rock bands today. Ambient, surf rock and some electronics are being incorporated to enhance the atmosphere and there's even a touch of noise in 'Beiruth'.
One of my favourite tracks is 'Kraków' (yes, all the titles are cities and Alice freely roams through their streets in search of the perfect sound). This quite uptempo rocker is all I need to start my
day with energy and a blissful grin on my face, that's for sure. Here to some odd electronics are
present, making the song even better than the naked version. 'Wien' returns to the minimal, dreamy sound which made up most of the previous release and is a stunningly beautiful song.
From the songs on Of The Lines and what I heard before, I can honestly say that this is an excellent album, whatever genre you decide to place this in. The band has been growing and has found a perfect compromise between experimenting and holding on to their distinct sound. Closer 'Jaffa' shows a glimpse of the future of Alice In The Cities, a bright future with an even more elaborate post-rock feel and some awesome trip-hop electronics.
For now however, I recommend every post-rock fan to check these guys out. It might be something different from what you're used to but something brilliant nonetheless. I can't wait to see them again at Dunk! and so should you...
Serge
appearing twice in live reviews, once in an interview and now for a second time in our reviews section. Soon they will appear again, when we cover the Dunk! Festival, but now their first full-
length is available and we can't miss out on that. This trio from Berlin, Germany, has done it again. This is an album with a very distinct own sound which is so beautiful.
Some of the tracks ('Valencia' and 'Zagreb') from their previous e.p. have been re-recorded and supplemented with brand new ones. These new songs have a similar sound and the same gentle warmth. 'Odessa', which I remember from live performances, is a perfect opener, immediately showing what Alice In The Cities stands for, modest instrumental rock songs with a minimal but highly atmospheric approach. This is a solid piece of 'cinematic post rock', as someone tagged their music.
The great thing about Alice In The Cities is that their music sounds as friendly and unpretentious as the bandmembers themselves. They're music lovers who play their instruments with a smile on their faces and they're perfectly capable of transmitting that joyful sentiment to the audience, even on CD. There are several elements of post-rock but that tag is being given to most instrumental rock bands today. Ambient, surf rock and some electronics are being incorporated to enhance the atmosphere and there's even a touch of noise in 'Beiruth'.
One of my favourite tracks is 'Kraków' (yes, all the titles are cities and Alice freely roams through their streets in search of the perfect sound). This quite uptempo rocker is all I need to start my
day with energy and a blissful grin on my face, that's for sure. Here to some odd electronics are
present, making the song even better than the naked version. 'Wien' returns to the minimal, dreamy sound which made up most of the previous release and is a stunningly beautiful song.
From the songs on Of The Lines and what I heard before, I can honestly say that this is an excellent album, whatever genre you decide to place this in. The band has been growing and has found a perfect compromise between experimenting and holding on to their distinct sound. Closer 'Jaffa' shows a glimpse of the future of Alice In The Cities, a bright future with an even more elaborate post-rock feel and some awesome trip-hop electronics.
For now however, I recommend every post-rock fan to check these guys out. It might be something different from what you're used to but something brilliant nonetheless. I can't wait to see them again at Dunk! and so should you...
Serge
