post rock
|
|
It doesn't often happen that a review is being written on the same day as the concerned release reaches our mailbox. So something special must be going on. Perhaps it's just a brilliant album, arriving at the right time or perhaps it's a welcome change from the releases I've been listening to and reviewing. In this case, it's actually both. I've been listening to a lot of black, death and doom metal lately and, no offense, but I need something else once in a while. So yes, Unknown Connection Failure reached us at the perfect time and delivered us a splendid post rock album.
This band hails from Hamburg, Germany and walks a similar path as some of the biggest post rock bands in the world, namely GY!BE, Mono or Explosions In The Sky. The three tracks on this album are lengthy instrumental rock anthems, flowing gently through the room and maintaining this calm, soothing atmosphere for the entire duration. There are no extravagant sonic blasts present, only the immense beautiful musical landscapes which make post rock such a amazing genre.
The album opens with 'Dust & Wires', which starts out as an elaborate ambient piece, including several drones and strings. Gradually, but very slowly, the song builds up in perfect post rock tradition. Other instruments join in and the violin is allowed to float freely upon these soundscapes. At this time, I'm reminded of artists who combine classical music with modern instruments, like Bersarin Quartett or Hidden Orchestra. The result is a very sumptuous and excellent post rock anthem which contains all the right elements and the perfect amount of variation to remain interesting. Halfway through the opener a vocal sample connects this first part with the second, heavier and most post rock orientated, part.
The sextet continues with these beautiful pieces of musical crafstmanship on the other two songs. The overall feel remains calm and tranquil. Title track 'Ships Will Sink', for example, rarely incorporates heavy elements and when it does, the music never gets obtrusive. In fact, it remeains a beautiful cinematic piece of music. 'My Whale vs. Your Whale', which sounds like a fight that I really want to see, brings the same lenient sound, a sound that will find my mediaplayer a lot from now on. This song too gets a little bit heavier after a while but always in this restful manner.
Years ago, I got acquainted with post-rock through sounds like these. Elaborate instrumental rock ballads, mainly influenced by shoegaze and ambient music. Now, years later, I still highly appreciate this genre and they're almost always welcome in this household. So it looks like my post rock playlist is getting crowded with these six people being added. I've been told that more work will be released in the near future and I'm really looking forward to hearing more. And to seeing more because I definitely want to witness this live one day.
Serge
This band hails from Hamburg, Germany and walks a similar path as some of the biggest post rock bands in the world, namely GY!BE, Mono or Explosions In The Sky. The three tracks on this album are lengthy instrumental rock anthems, flowing gently through the room and maintaining this calm, soothing atmosphere for the entire duration. There are no extravagant sonic blasts present, only the immense beautiful musical landscapes which make post rock such a amazing genre.
The album opens with 'Dust & Wires', which starts out as an elaborate ambient piece, including several drones and strings. Gradually, but very slowly, the song builds up in perfect post rock tradition. Other instruments join in and the violin is allowed to float freely upon these soundscapes. At this time, I'm reminded of artists who combine classical music with modern instruments, like Bersarin Quartett or Hidden Orchestra. The result is a very sumptuous and excellent post rock anthem which contains all the right elements and the perfect amount of variation to remain interesting. Halfway through the opener a vocal sample connects this first part with the second, heavier and most post rock orientated, part.
The sextet continues with these beautiful pieces of musical crafstmanship on the other two songs. The overall feel remains calm and tranquil. Title track 'Ships Will Sink', for example, rarely incorporates heavy elements and when it does, the music never gets obtrusive. In fact, it remeains a beautiful cinematic piece of music. 'My Whale vs. Your Whale', which sounds like a fight that I really want to see, brings the same lenient sound, a sound that will find my mediaplayer a lot from now on. This song too gets a little bit heavier after a while but always in this restful manner.
Years ago, I got acquainted with post-rock through sounds like these. Elaborate instrumental rock ballads, mainly influenced by shoegaze and ambient music. Now, years later, I still highly appreciate this genre and they're almost always welcome in this household. So it looks like my post rock playlist is getting crowded with these six people being added. I've been told that more work will be released in the near future and I'm really looking forward to hearing more. And to seeing more because I definitely want to witness this live one day.
Serge