The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl: Volumes 1 + 2

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of The Appleseed Cast's seminal, critically-acclaimed and most popular release ever, Deep Elm Records is releasing both volumes of Low Level Owl together for the very first time as a complete master collection of all 26 songs in hi-res digital audio including separate artwork for each song.

Massive in approach and epic in scope, Low Level Owl is a vast soundscape that lives and breathes on its own. Nearly two hours in total length and previously released on two separate volumes, these 26 beautifully orchestrated songs of lush melody, expertly paced dynamics and blossoming atmospherics will leave you floored. The Appleseed Cast' gives way to a more courageous exploration of sound and texture on Low Level Owl, experimenting with loops, echoes, instrumentation, inverting tape and changing speeds. They discover the sonic possibilities...the masterpiece in every measure. Each song explodes at the seams, overflowing with symphonics, crescendos, swells of feedback and electronics. Listen to slowly building waves of guitars and drums that ultimately crest, bursting into the shimmering tears of honest men. Music like this is neither calculated nor deliberate. It just happens. It just exists. It is the music to dream to.

Almeeva

A 130 bpm kick drum, echo-driven guitars drowned in reverb, and a minimal groove. Gregory Hoepffner's (Radius System, TEMPL▲TE, Time to Burn, Painting By Numbers…) new project draws it's modernity from the space allowed to make us lose ourselves. Head straight into the rhythm logic, to its simplest and most efficient truth.

No song writing, no melodies, no vocals.
Don't think, don't loose the pulse.

miaou - The Day Will Come Before Long

Japans mercurial architects of enticing whimsy miaou end their three year recording hiatus with the long awaited and very captivating, The Day will Come Before Long. Their fourth release and first since 2008s All Around Us, it finds the band immerse themselves in a much more electronic soundscape than on previous forays, conceiving arguably their most lavish and consummate record to date.

From their beginnings in 2001 as a university project, the trio of Tatsuki Hamasaki and sisters Mayumi and Hiromi Hasegawa have spent the best part of the last decade enduring to blur the lines between genres with their finely crafted dreamy vision of instrumental rock. A clearly defined progression is evident throughout miaous back catalogue but it is with The Day Will Come Before Long, that the Tokyo based outfit splice the finest of what has gone before with sophisticated synths, mashed up samples and glitchy guitars with impressive results.

The very brief intro Notnotnot heralds this more experimental side flowing majestically into the xylophonic swells and looped beats of the gorgeous Small Dream. A near perfectly crafted fluidity coaxes the listener through the unblemished opening half before the first of the albums two guest vocals emerges, the whispered vocal of Epic 45s Ben Holton on Endings. Adding yet more dimension to this already multi textured record. It is alas with the second of these guest vocals that the slightest of blemishes appears. Ben Coopers(Electric President/Radical Face/Ghost) voice it feels, possibly sits too uncomfortably with the music on track Lost Souls and doesn’t provide the spark one hears on the previous collaboration with Holton. This however is quickly forgotten as the transcendent Keep Drifting My Heart ever so gracefully brings this excellent album to a stunning close.

While for some the semblance to Icelandic pair Mum and Seabear may be unavoidable with The Day Will Come Before Long, in my book this can only be construed as a positive. For with their latest offering Miaou have made a blissfully absorbing record that drifts sublimely from its start to its end and I will judge it on this alone.

Preview some tracks below.

miaou - the day will come before long by Teto Records

Interview with Mike Tolan (Six Parts Seven/ Talons')

Over the past decade singer songwriter Mike Tolan has been nothing if not immensely prolific. Probably most famous for playing guitar with the hugely influential Six Parts Seven, he may also be the finest song smith you have never heard. As well as side projects Moustache Mountain and Trouble Books, Tolan has over the last number of years released albums under the moniker Talons’. The latest Songs for Boats released earlier this year is a heart wrenching album of love songs at the end of the world. We were genuinely privileged to catch up with him recently to discuss his extremely interesting career to date.

“I took piano lessons as a kid”, Tolan begins, “We were lucky to have a relative’s old Steinway grand in our house for a while when I was growing up but I gave up piano probably at age 10. I then taught myself guitar by playing along with my favourite 90s bands – Radiohead, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. I feel like I spent a lot of time trying to emulate Johnny Greenwood with my shitty Toronado and my DOD multi-effects pedal I’m not really sure how that possibly could be reflected in what I do now but maybe somewhere. I was in bands for as long as I have played guitar.”

His current incarnation with Talons’ may seem a far cry from these earlier influences, with Tolan citing 90’s and early 00’s post rock like Thrill Jockey, Kranky and Drag City and “noise music”, as more of an influence on his kind of “folk” music. “These movements examined traditional pop and rock music formats, structures, instrumentation etc”, he explains, “and took them apart and made new things from them. This is what I have always tried to do with folk music. I am not inventing a new style but I am taking apart traditional folk, trying to distance myself from its conventions and crutches whenever possible, and make something that is an evolution or devolution it.”

Having dabbled with a number of different styles on the different Talons’ albums Tolan feels that while the albums may vary greatly in style and production, they are all expressions of parts of what he does as a musician. “Ideally, I will make an album that will maintain its coherence but it is something that I have not been able to master yet. I don’t know if I am necessarily more or less comfortable with any style, it mostly just depends on what mood I’m in.” He continues “Some days I will want to write a song on acoustic guitar, other days I will want to work with programming or sampling. Some of my musician friends will lecture me for releasing this variety of music under one alias. They say it is “killing my brand”. I don’t really care about that though. I don’t want Talons’ just to be some sad guy singing about his life. It is me, and I am all of these things. I don’t expect anyone to like all of the things or anything that I make. I just have to make them.”

His latest album Songs for Boats with its end of the world concept was written while Tolan was living in Spain and was largely inspired by the financial collapse in the US in 2008, he explains “I was very far from my family and from Sommer (his wife), and pretty detached from what was actually happening in the US. I became very worried (overly so) that everything would fall apart and I would not be able to make it home to my loved ones. The album is about the collapse of our current society or the escape from it. With the “Boats” album, I tried to see this possibility from a number of angles, both positive (Ferry, Sailboat) and negative (Lost Ships, Catamaran).”

It is impossible not to speak about his five years with Six Parts Seven when conversing with Tolan but it is a subject he is very willing to discuss and reminisces fondly about his time in the band. “It was great just to work with a group of people who were serious enough to practice 2-4 times a week for 4-6 hours and maintain that level of commitment for years. Songs get polished in a way that I can never reach with my other projects. Looking back on it now, I feel like most of the highlights are from touring and mostly not from the shows but from other weird/cool things that happened.” When asked about stories on the road with the band Tolan smiling broadly, remembers, “Getting stranded in Minneapolis on tour with Richard Buckner and going bowling with him, he is a very good bowler. Terrifying night drives through the Redwoods in northern CA listening to ‘Master of Puppets’. Other terrifying night drives from Connecticut to Rochester, NY because the brakes we almost shot and we had to get to a garage in the early morning listening to ‘Things we lost in the fire’. Recording at Jeff Ament’s B-15 Studio in Seattle on our last album. Blah blah blah. It was a cool time. The music was good too.”

The current state of the music industry is another topic that Tolan speaks about with intensity, “It seems that the major labels are collapsing, which they should be in my opinion. I am much more of a proponent of the working musician than the rock star. I will always make music but I have no aspirations to support myself doing it. I get really uneasy when art intersects with money”, he adds, “once you decide that you want to make a living as a recording artist, I feel like you immediately start compromising, whether you realize it or not. I could not live with that. Music is too important to me to corrupt it with business.” He believes what the internet is doing for music at present is an excellent thing, “While it has opened the floodgates to a constant and sometimes suffocating flow of terrible bands it also takes away the egotism and pretention of record collecting. Now I can hear records that I never could have found or afforded, I can discover great bands that don’t care to pay a publicist or buy ads on Pitchfork. It is anarchic but not in a way that hurts anyone except those who are in it for the dollar.”

Currently resident with his wife in Chicago and working in a bakery which he loves, Tolan has no plans just yet to slow down in any way musically, “I am working on lots of music, playing a few shows locally and hoping to do some touring in 2012 (pre-apocalypse). I just finished an orchestral ambient album that will hopefully be coming out on Slaapwel Records sometime in the future. I started a psych-folk band with Ben (also from Tusco and 6/7) called Sky Burial, which should be pretty sweet. Also, I’m working on a new proper Talons’ album, to be called “Afterpop”. It is going to take a long time to make it but I think it will be my best record if I can finish it.”

They Say We're Sinking - Echoes of the Great War

Comprising its component parts with musicians from hardcore, punk and experimental bands that came out of the local scene in Dover, Delaware, instrumentalists They Say We’re Sinking feel it is their impatience as people that greatly influences their particular take on post rock. And while this hurried, urgent energy is apparent throughout their debut EP Echoes of the Great War, the influence of bands like Red Sparrowes, This Will Destroy You and Explosions in the Sky, one feels is even greater.

An immediate example comes with live favourite and the EPs opener, Beth (Declarer). Yes the energy and snarl is all there and yes it is impeccably played throughout but the fact that I find myself thinking it could be an early track from one of the afore mentioned bands surely can’t be right. These thoughts are unwavering as the EP moves onto Kaph (Invocation), easily the EPs worst track and helped in no part by the cacophonic debauchery that is unwisely deployed at the songs tail end.

Thankfully beams of original light emanate from the second half of Echoes of the Great War. The exquisite arrangement of Gimel (The Wandering) highlights the bands delectable taste for the eclectic and emotive side of instrumental music but it is with the closer Teth (The Keeper) where They Say We’re Sinking stop hiding behind their influences and finally show us a glimpse of their real skin. Encased with deeply, textured layers and deft, precise timing it is not only the EPs stand out track but a vital indication of the bands immense ability.

All said and done this is the bands debut and a certain amount of the proverbial slack must surely be shown. Echoes of the Great War, while not anywhere near the most original offering of the year is still a solid slice of post rock from musicians obviously still trying to find their own identity and I feel from the evidence provided on the EPs latter half, it is what they do next that will define They Say We’re Sinking.

Introducing : Administration Shock Him

What started out primarily as a kind of solo experiment in his basement in Wurzburg, Germany, looking at different methods of recording various instrumentation, it wasn’t until guitarist Christian Kasperbauer enlisted the help of good friend and fellow guitarist Thomas Rauh and drummer Dominik Hartlieb that post rock project Administration Shock Him really began to take shape.

After honing their sound with numerous live shows in their hometown and surrounding areas the band self recorded and released their debut EP 39:03 in March of this year. Taking its influences from a wide range of styles and genres including black and death metal, psychedelic jazz and according to Christian even some weird krautrock stuff, the EP was recorded live in Kasperbauers living room with a large amount of improvisation.

Currently home to the likes of Collapse Under the Empire, Long Distance Calling and Daturah, the band are proud to be part of the ever growing post rock scene in Germany. “There are some very good bands in Germany at the moment that are really pushing the German post rock thing to a higher level,”, Christian explains, “but this is not just here in Germany the scene all over the globe has just exploded, thanks in a huge part to the platform smaller bands are now able to access with the web.”

Administration Shock Him are at present intensively working on material for their upcoming debut album which is penciled in for release early next year. And after missing the festival season this year due to other commitments the band are planning appearances at a number of German festivals to promote their new album in 2012. For the moment however, you can check out their excellent EP 39:03 below.

Interview with Sioum

Hailing from, in their own words, the northern wastes of Illinois, three piece Sioum put out in my opinion one of the finest but alas underrated (this side of the Atlantic anyway) post rock albums of 2010, their excellent debut I Am Mortal, But Was Fiend. However, in the year since its release the band have been beset with issues outside of their control that have hampered plans for the albums follow up. We recently caught up with the guys who explained more.

How did Sioum get started?

Sioum: All three members of Sioum originated from a band called Figure of Fiends. After that ended, Kevin and Dorian continued to write music together. About a year later, Arthur decided to join.

And where did the name come from?

S: Some friends of ours wrote an album, and it was very inspirational for us at the time. Sioum ties into and comes from that.

I was really impressed with your debut I Am Mortal, But Was Fiend, what were the highs and lows when putting it together?

S: Writing the music was the best part. Those songs were the first 3 that we wrote as a band. Recording and mixing was undoubtedly the low point. We had very little experience and knowledge in that area and it was a long drawn out process - over 8 months. Another high was when we finally finished the album. It was a huge relief to be done and have the finished product in our hands.

The albums artwork is excellent; can you tell us a bit about it?

S: The art was a collaborative effort with our friend Shannon. All of our songs have themes/stories that we conveyed to her before she began the artwork. During our 8 months of recording and mixing, she slowly pieced together all of the art. The idea was to help give stories and images to our music, while still allowing the listener's own interpretation and experience. Shannon's art gave us that perfect ambiguous touch. More of her work can be seen on her facebook art page "Beneath the Birds Art".

Is there any news on a follow up?

S: We currently have about 40 minutes of music that will be going on the next LP. We're also trying to figure out how we will approach recording the album - DIY, partial/full studio, programming vs. live drums...etc.

The album is very much a DIY affair; do you think this is the way forward for smaller bands?

S: It really depends on the goals of the band. DIY can be a very strenuous and long process of trial and error if it's your first time. Especially at first, the learning curve can be overwhelming (which can actually hurt the recording and more importantly the band). It takes patience. If the main drive of the group is to write, record, and perform their music, the most efficient route may be to get their music recorded by professionals in the industry. There are people who are very passionate and dedicate years to learning their trade, and much like a musician writing, recording and mixing is their art. People can always say that money is an issue for smaller bands - but if you're serious, a band is your family, investment, and future. Spending money becomes a trivial task that is necessary for proper development.

On the other hand, if mixing and recording is something you aspire to learn, DIY can be a very exciting and gratifying experience. It can help broaden your knowledge in production, which can be applied to other aspects of the band such as live sound. Beyond that, for us, do it yourself just made more sense. We have a tendency to be perfectionists and very meticulous, which would have added pressure to a studio recording situation. We wanted to avoid that. Scoring for video games and film is also an important part of our band and a life-long goal. Working on the album gave us a great opportunity to further the production knowledge we need for that.

Some of the tracks on the album like Upon Awakening and Drifting Away have a cinematic feel, which director would you most like to collaborate with and why?

S: Darren Aronofsky comes to mind. Besides his movies being just plain amazing, his films always leave us inspired and with images we take with us when we write. Whether through the guidance of Aronofsky or Clint Mansell, there is also a "live band" aspect to some of the scores that we enjoy, The Fountain for instance. So working under those motifs would be awesome. The same could be said of Danny Boyle. Some of the music in our old band Figure of Fiends was actually heavily influenced by 28 Days Later and Sunshine.

Have you toured much to support the album?

S: Our plan was originally to take the plunge and set up massive tours shortly after we released the album. Unfortunately, Arthur's problem set in before we could do that.

Yeah I read somewhere that your drummer Arthur had some problems with his arm earlier in the year. How is he now and how has it effected the band?

S: Since our last news announcement, he has gone to another doctor and was re-diagnosed with what is most likely Radial Tunnel Syndrome. He is still undergoing different therapies to try and fix the problem. So, right now that is still in limbo. The biggest effect has been that we are unable to play shows. Although it has also presented us with an opportunity to write more, so we have tried to stay positive and utilize the situation as best as we can. Once things resolve we plan on setting up as many shows as possible and getting our music out there with tours.

So what bands would you most like to tour with and why?

S: Any band we enjoy listening to would be fun to tour with. Bands like Russian Circles and Intronaut make sense. Bands like Meshuggah, Baroness, and Torche don't make as much sense as our sound is different...but we would do it anyway.

But really, we have plans to kidnap Ben Sharp (Cloudkicker) and make him play shows/write music with us. Probably force Isis to get back together too. They can open for us.

What does the future hold for Sioum?

S: Besides working on music for our next album and releasing that, we are also in the middle of writing music for an indie RPG video game. It's coming along really well and we should have more news on that in the near future.

Sounds cool, thanks Sioum!

Canyons of Static - Challenger EP

This latest offering from Wisconsins Canyons of Static can in some ways be seen as a perfect introduction to the bands fascinating infusion of the distorted melodies of shoegaze with the multifaceted emotional aspects of post rock. Recorded in an attic in one afternoon, the Challenger EP is a collection of older tracks reworked with new guitarist Nick Elert to document his addition to the line up.

Formed in 2005 by husband and wife Ross and Aggie Severson, this is a follow up to their 2008 release The Disappearance and finds the band on a more atmospheric, experimental plateau embracing a more ambient sound structure than has been found on their previous releases. Manifesting itself with the wave of guttural drones found on opener Columns and again with the formless yet melodic feedback of closer Worn, this ambient experimentation seems to perfectly cradle the record allowing the band to reverted to a more familiar sound on the two middle tracks, which I may add they do with some style.

Flowing effortlessly from Columns, title track Challenger oozes a raw blend of surging power masked by a profound fragility, capturing flawlessly the essence of the intensity that Canyons of Static bring to their live shows. Completing the set is the appropriately named The Calm, a blissful slice of My Bloody Valentine inspired interplay between the strings of guitarist Ross Severson and the keys of his wife Aggie.

For a band that have been steadily releasing interesting and innovative music since 2006 it is surprising how low Canyons of Static still fly under the radar, whether this is deliberate or not it is hard to know but with Challenger they have created an ideal introduction to anyone who may have missed their older material. And with a new full length album pencilled in for later this year this is a great place to start.

To Destroy A City

Formed in the summer of 2010 with ambitions of collectively fusing the inspiration of many styles and genres into integrated, emotive, compositional pieces, Chicago based trio To Destroy A City have begun their musical life with quite elevated intentions. In many ways so, they are quite fortunate that their eponymous debut, released in September, reaches and surpasses these lofty goals.

The industrious trio of Andrew Welch, Jeff Anderson and Michael Marshall it would seem have wasted little time since their inception, writing the bulk of the material for the record within two months. And while other new bands may spend countless hours fretting over small details about their debut release, To Destroy A City with an obvious inherent confidence in their music and their ability have promptly produced an album ripe with simplistic, trance inducing, ethereally layered compositions that drift through the darkness and light that constitute the complexity of this human condition.

Perfect examples of this foray through the darkness and light litter the album but it is with track Illium that it resonates the finest. It begins with the albums only trace of vocal, a haunting narrated sample of T.S Eliots, The Hollow Men, filling the milieu with the spiritual journey of Eliot’s fellowmen towards salvation and away from despair before exploding into a joyous chorus of reverb drenched guitars and immense synth. Other notable tracks include The Marvels of Modern Civilisation, a short, pulsating tip of the hat to Manchester’s highly influential New Order and the wistful melancholia that is Goodbye, Dear Friend. In truth there is no real blip throughout the forty or so minutes that make up To Destroy A City instead just a very free flowing, superbly crafted debut offering.

For, To Destroy A City to reach the point they are at now in such a short space of time is absolutely mind blowing and one can only envision a very bright future for misters Welch, Anderson and Marshall. To Destroy A City is an album for fans of Boards of Canada, The American Dollar or for anyone who appreciates brilliantly structured ambient infused electronic post rock.

Visit their website here

Introducing: Leaflog

Leaflog are a young Irish instrumental band falling under the loose (and quickly becoming looser) heading of post rock. Believing words to be flawed, the band use thoughtful melody, screeching guitars, blissful chimes and clouds of effected space to express the variety of human emotion through music.

The band hailing from Kerry, is currently four members strong, Padraig Daly - guitar, Sean Daly - guitar/synth, Dave Kissane - bass, Shane O'Neill - drums, but the complexity of human emotion called for more instruments to become involved, so clarinet, piano, xylophone, strings and trumpets were drafted in for the recording of the band's first EP Mayday. The EP was recorded in the summer of 2010 in the Cork School of Music and released that September. On the back of this Leaflog were commissioned to compose an original score for renowned New York based filmmaker Bill Morrisons experimental film Decasia, which they performed live at the Kerry Film Festival.

2011 has seen the band busy writing new material which they are planning to record over Christmas for a planned release date early next year. For the moment you can catch their brilliant live show when the band plays the hard Working Class Heroes festival in Dublin this October.

Interview with Hands

Before releasing Creator, their second album and first for Facedown Records, in 2009, hardcore experimentalists Hands had self released their debut EP The Everlasting, written a concept album The Sounds of Earth and assiduously toured the length and breath of the United States. However, with the strains both emotionally and financially that came with this, the band moved away from full time touring and ended up recording arguably their finest and most creative work to date, the captivating Give Me Rest. We recently caught up with the bands guitarist/vocalist Shane Ochsner who explained more.

What music did you listen to growing up and did this inspire you to want to be in a band?

Shane Ochsner: I’d say the most influential bands for me growing up (in order of appearance) were Audio Adrenaline, Limp Bizkit, Living Sacrifice, The Luti-Kriss, Sevendust, Misery Signals, Jimmy Eat World.

Could you tell us a little bit about how the band got together?

SO: Our drummer Josh and I have been playing in bands together, since were 13 years old. In 2007, he and I connected about playing music together again. We recruited our bass player Chris, and our long time friend Ian, and went to work! We started Hands as a weekend warrior project. Just playing shows whenever we could, and writing when the opportunity presented itself. Shortly after playing our first few shows, doors started opening for us everywhere. We were being invited to play big festivals, open for bigger bands, touring, etc... It was crazy, and totally unexpected! We eventually released “The Everlasting EP”, and things just always moved forward from there!

Give Me Rest is the bands fourth release, how would you describe the progression in your music?

SO: It had been over 2 years since we had written any music together. The last thing we had done was “Creator”, which had been written only a month after writing/recording our “Sounds Of Earth” album, and only 3 months after the release of “The Everlasting EP”. So in less than a year's time, we had released 3 totally different records! So it was time for a break. But in that time from 2008-2011, we all grew up. Our musical influences changed, we had more experience being a band. If you think about it, a lot changes in a few years for an individual, especially young musicians. I think “Give Me Rest” is our best album to date, and I think overall it’s because we have had that 2 year window. Musically it’s more mature and original. Lyrically, it’s more honest and real. The differences between our previous albums and this one are huge!

And what were the strongest influences on it?

SO: All I have listened to for the past year is Jimmy Eat World and HUM. I think there are a few signs of that on this record, but I really don’t know.

What was the recording process for the new record like?

SO: Insane! I ended up having to write and record this entire album by myself, in the midst of becoming a father for the first time and working a full time job! There were so many signs around this album that made us want to throw the project away and call it quits. But ultimately, everything worked out. I started tracking the album here in Kansas City, with my friend Josh Barber at Covenant Studios. We spent roughly 2 months recording, and mixing. This is the album I have had time to actually mess around with a ton of different drums, amps, and guitars. Having the capability to cater to each individual song. It was awesome! I loved my time there, and it will go down as a recording experience I will forever remember.

I read somewhere you guys don’t tour anymore, what are the reasons behind this?

SO: We got sick of being broke, and aimlessly driving around the country hoping the show was “still on”. We love meeting people, travelling, and playing our music. We have no problem playing our best show in front of 2 kids in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. But at some point, when you have families at home and other responsibilities, you have to know when to call it quits. And we did.

What do you miss the most about not touring? Any chance you might again someday?

SO: I miss the people. Being in a van with my best friends. Night drives and Mountain Dew. Setting up and tearing down my gear every night. Playing the music. I miss it all! And I know that all of us would do it again, if there were a way to make it work financially.

What are your thoughts on the state of the music industry these days?

SO: I keep most of my thoughts to myself on this subject. But it’s obvious things are getting bad. The number of people that are actually going out buying albums is dropping rapidly. And because of that bands are getting less and less for what they do, on top of sky high gas prices (Bands that choose to buy trailers the size of mobile homes, I don’t feel sorry for you.). There are a thousand things today that contribute to the current status of the music industry. I’m curious to see where it all ends up.

And what is Hands stance on illegal downloading?

SO: I don’t know about the other guys in the band, but for me personally I have downloaded a few albums. But all of them are albums that are seriously out dated. My most recent download was “Best Of The Talking Heads”. Which is awesome, by the way. For me, I don’t ever get excited about new bands or upcoming artists. For some reason, I am one of those dudes that’s not very open to accepting new music into my library. So when one of my favourite bands releases a new album, without a doubt I go to the store a buy it! I was standing at Best Buy, waiting for them to open the store the day Jimmy Eat World’s “Invented” album came out last September. $10 well spent!

Are there any new bands that have you excited?

SO: Like I mentioned before, there’s not too much making its way onto my iPod. I do know, that my friends in the band Gideon put out a new album called “Costs”. Anyone that’s into hardcore music, check it out! Also, the latest Deftones album “Diamond Eyes” is pretty cool stuff!

What does the future hold for Hands?

SO: I have no idea. We are trying to line up a few things this fall, but that’s about it. We are drifting further and further away from being a full time band, and with the release of “Give Me Rest” being such an unexpected success, who knows what it will bring. Another album? A couple more tours? A final tour? We are just going with the flow, and Facedown Records have been kind enough to leave the door open for us.

Thanks Shane!!

Hands last.fm

Hands facebook

Explosions In The Sky announce UK tour

Back in the UK later this month to headline the Green Man festival on the Friday night, Explosions In The Sky have just announced news of a full UK tour in late January 2012. Between these two dates the band will be coming in for one night only in November to play a show in Bristol. Upcoming UK dates below…

Friday 19 August – Brecon Beacons – Green Man Festival (Sold Out)

20 November – Bristol, Academy

22 January – Belfast, Mandela Hall

23 January – Glasgow, Academy

24 January – Leeds, Academy

25 January – Gateshead, The Sage

27 January – London, Brixton Academy

Check out the stunning animated video to Last Known Surroundings here

The Files and Fires - For People Talk Lightly...

Deriving their name from a passage in Albert Camus classic existentialist novel The Plague, Connecticut based avant gardists The Files and Fires return with their sophomore release, the inquisitively titled For People Talk Lightly.

Formed in 2006 by Tyler J Smith and Ian Tait, the duo went through a diverse array of musicians before sticking with current drummer Mike Howard and guitarist Peter Recine. Their self engineered debut Like Ivy released in 2008, found the band in cautious post, trance rock by numbers mode nearly afraid to express their true musical intent or aspirations. With For People Talk Lightly on the other hand, a blossoming maturity has seeped through and fashioned a record where before you can comprehend its surroundings you are enthralled in its charisma.

The albums intro Berliner and following track The Iron Pillars are deployed almost like tiny currents pulling and drawing you slowly toward the rest of the record, where before long you are drowning in the sonic depths of the sumptuousness and beauty that is Let Us Unfold Our Veils in the Wind. Following a short re-emergence for air with the albums weakest track A Miracle Saved Us, it is back to the idyllic depths with the appropriately titled The Sea was Left Behind, washing over you with some of the most enchanting and heart warming strings I have heard in some time. For People Talk Lightly is then brought to a close superbly with the impressive grandeur and adroitly precise arrangement of And The Day Goes By, But Time Stands Still.

The Files and Fires, have produced a stunning follow up to their at times lacklustre debut, which demonstrates a band with the ability to develop and be courageous and focused with their choices, a trait often unseen in many young bands these days. And having the pleasure of coming across For People Talk Lightly by complete coincidence makes this very special album that little bit more special.

Coma Recovery - Goddverb

New Mexicos purveyors of dark, industrial post rock Coma Recovery, return with their latest offering the deeply intense Goddverb. Conjuring visions of a scorched, cracked earth scattered intermittently by deathly, bare, skeletal trees encircling broken, desolate, grey cities engulfed by vicious, tumultuous, biting winds choking the air with grit and dust, Goddverb can be seen as a perfect soundtrack to this post apocalyptic landscape teetering on the edge of the abyss. Depressing stuff?? Not in the least.

Formed in early 2001 under the name Persona Projector, the band has undergone several line-up changes before settling on its current incarnation as Coma Recovery. After two self released EPs the band recorded their debut long player Drown That Holy End In Wine, an early indicator of the bands proclivity for the darkly atmospheric blend of post rock and hardcore that has become the vertebrae for the extraordinary Goddverb.

According to the band the inspiration behind Goddverb is to “remind us that in the midst of an industry collapsing from its own failure to bring us simple substance, music can still be bold and outspoken, still induce passion and vigour, still inspire and confound in the same breath, still hold onto one hundred per cent of its integrity,” and this power, passion and integrity resonates throughout the five tracks that make up the record. From the bruising, grittiness of Red Lighting Child/Great Emptiness right through the cacophony of melodic distortion and unremitting guitars that is title track Goddverb and on to the albums soaring and dare I say hopeful closer Illuminator, Coma Recovery stand fast behind this unwavering ideology and it pays off remarkably.

This is a record that quite astonishingly manages to evoke powerful, dark apocalyptic images while at the same time puncturing them with beams of transcendent, graceful, intoxicating light. My only concern is where Coma Recovery can go from here.

NEWPATH Festival

Our friends in MinionTV have asked us to give a little heads up about the forthcoming three day NEWPATH Festival that takes place in Liverpool the 27^th, 28^th and 29^th of August.

According to Stephen from the band “NEWPATH is a collective of like-minded people who aim to highlight genres of music that seem to be over-looked in the mainstream. As musicians ourselves, we put on DIY events to showcase and support music that we are very passionate about.Next up we have a three day NEWPATH festival over the Matthew Street Fringe Bank Holiday Weekend. MinionTV have picked all bands involved and are playing each day. This festival is FREE ENTRY, so get involved and support some great bands.”

The line-up for the three days includes This Is My Normal State (Bristol), Kanina (Japan), Muto Leo (Liverpool), Alright The Captain (Nottingham) and of course MinionTV along with many more.

For full details check it out on Facebook and listen to the free sampler here

Black Moon Empire EP

Merging the combined talents of one of Germanys most influential and well respected post rock bands Collapse Under the Empire with the blissfully talented yet reclusive Russian post rock quintet Mooncake, give us the heady ingredients that are used to make Black Moon Empire, arguably one of this years most eagerly anticipated EPs.

Containing five tracks, two from either group and the titular collaborative effort, both bands admit the split can be seen as a cogent step in anticipation of their forthcoming new albums later this year. And believe me going on the evidence provided on Black Moon Empire these releases cannot come soon enough.

The EP sweeps into life with the above mentioned collaboration Black Moon Empire, a dazzling blend of the joyous, melodic indulgence of Mooncake with the raw, powerful surge that is Collapse Under the Empire, clearly stating the insane musical chemistry shared between the two groups. This raw, menacing power is continued by Collapse Under the Empire on Spark, with its dirty, brooding bassline and off kilter, distorted, unremitting guitars, it is a master class by the German outfit in effective minimalist post rock.

For me however the stand out track on the EP comes with the beautiful Turquoise by Mooncake, which sways most graciously on the wave of your soul with its sumptuous strings and heart wrenching, angelic combination of pitch and rhythm, an absolute gem. Mooncakes other offering on the EP Novorossiysk 1968, which magnificently builds and builds to its grandiose peaks, is used as a perfect means on which to bring proceedings to a close.

Black Moon Empire should not be seen as just a collection of songs, but as an inspired venture between two bands whose unique styles interweave and play impishly off one another. This is a truly remarkable example of two artists sharing one canvas and creating something rather exceptional.

Stream the EP here

Interview with The Calm Blue Sea

Following on from their highly successful return to the stage at this years SXSW festival and the re-release of their majestic debut record, The Calm Blue Sea are slowly beginning to establish themselves as a band on the move. After a self imposed hiatus of almost two years, the band wowed both fans and critics alike with their stunning performance on home turf in Austin, Texas. We recently got a chance to speak to guitarist and sometime vocalist Chris Patin about the bands interesting journey so far.

Can you tell us a little bit about how the band came together?

Chris Patin: There was a house in South Austin where several bands rehearsed a few years ago. Some of us from different bands started hanging around that house just making noise and playing loud. We decided to make a band out of it sometime in 2007. We filled out the lineup using old friends and Craigslist.

What music/bands influenced you to begin playing music?

CP: Starting out Pink Floyd, Will Johnson, and some of the instrumental rock bands were influential while we were trying to figure out who we were.

How does the writing process happen? Has this changed at all from when the band started out?

CP: Someone brings in a basic melody or chord progression then we all just play around on it and contribute thoughts and parts until we have a song. It usually takes a while for us to complete a song. The process has evolved a little over time as we've had different members in the band but in the end the most important part of that process is intact, which is all of us contributing and building songs together.

You have decided to reissue the debut album, what are the reasons behind this?

CP: The first time around we released it ourselves after only playing a handful of shows. No one had any idea who we were or what to make of it so that limited the album's reach and it always felt like we'd love to give this record a proper release at some point down the road. We came back together to be active again earlier this year, quickly developed a relationship with our new label, Modern Outsider, and it seemed like the right time to put it out again. Plus we really wanted to release it on vinyl.

Are you guys working on new material?

CP: Yes, we're writing now and we've even starting to debut some new songs live, which feels nice to play new music for the first time in ages. The process of writing is slow but the material is really exciting to all of us. The plan is to release a new record early next year.

Is it difficult to translate the album onto the live stage?

CP: No, what you hear on the recordings was tracked live. We prepare for studio time by working out the songs and our individual parts in detail while playing together in a room, then we go in and track as a band. So it's not much of a transition because they start live then get recorded, not the other way around. As full time members have changed over time we've had to adjust live arrangements slightly, that's been somewhat challenging depending on the song, but overall we've made it work.

Best and worst thing about touring?

CP: Best thing is getting the opportunity to play everyday, meeting new people, and seeing new places. Okay that's 3 things. Worst thing is having to figure out funding and finding ways to take time off without losing our day jobs.

Any plans to tour Europe?

CP: Yes. 2012 hopefully. It's something we've been working hard at for a long time.

You wrote the film score to Seigfried in 2008, how did this come about?

CP: There's an amazing group of movie theaters here in Austin called The Alamo Drafthouse. They screen new films as well as put on a whole range of special events. They approached us about writing a score to a silent film and performing it live with the film. We chose Fritz Lang's Siegfried and performed it in March of 2009 at their downtown Austin theater. We'd put so much work into the score that we decided to record it and release it as well. There's murmuring about a release of the film with the score later this year, which we've never officially put out to date.

What does the future hold for The Calm Blue Sea?

CP: New album early 2012 and touring to follow. Beyond that hopefully we'll be creating music, touring, and doing interesting projects like Siegfried for a long time to come.

Thanks Chris

Stream The Calm Blue Sea here

*shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo

Rising from the ashes of cult hardcore noiseniks Mahumodo, *shels were formed in 2003 by vocalist Mehdi Safa and drummer Tom Harriman. After a couple of early EPs, the band sent out the first real signal of their obvious talent with the release of their critical acclaimed debut, Sea of the Dying Dhow in 2007. Now four years on and after meticulous care, detail and attention *shels unleash its stunning follow up, Plains of the Purple Buffalo.

Dividing a vast amount of the last four years between developing and nurturing the label Shelsmusic, a home for like minded musicians and artists, including Ef and The Ascent of Everest, and overseeing the production of Plains of the Purple Buffalo, the final product is true testament to Safas unwavering believe in the immense vision he had for the project. Recorded at Safas home in California, the album clocks in at just under eighty minutes of flawlessly executed raw intensity, interwoven through a rich delicate tapestry of beautiful layered emotion.

From the exquisite fragility of the albums first release, Butterflies on Luci’s Way to the sonic headlock that is the Journey to the Plains and all the way through the breathtaking odyssey of Plains of the Purple Buffalo parts one and two, *shels manage to easily keep you enchanted on this mesmerizing musical experience. At times this feels more like the soundtrack to some sweeping cinematic event than it does a straight up rock genre record. For with Plains of the Purple Buffalo, *shels have succeeded in soaring above the ideals of genre by making a record that will resonate with music lovers across the board and I for one salute them for achieving such a feat.

Easily one of the picks of 2011 so far, it will come as no surprise when Plains of the Purple Buffalo features on a wide range of album of the year polls come the end of December. So if you will kindly excuse me, I am off yet again on that astonishing journey to the Plains of the Purple Buffalo.

Preview some tracks here

Damascus - Salutations, Distant Satellite!

Not to be confused with the British heavy metal band of the eighties or the Canadian death metal band who share the same name, New Jersey based Damascus recently released their debut Salutations, Distant Satellite! A raw fusion of metal and post rock, that takes its influences everywhere from Caspian and Explosions in the Sky to Rosetta and Maybeshewill.

Having spent months writing and rehearsing the relative newcomers, Brendan Bianowicz (drums and percussion), George Eppinger (guitar), Gil Morejón (guitar and piano) and Edwin Rivera (Bass), have been diligently gigging on any stage they could find to promote the debut EP which ignites vigorously into life with the blistering Equinox. Weaving simplistic melodies through brutish aggressive riffs and punishing beats, Equinox sets the bar high for the rest of Salutations, Distant Satellite!, although unfortunately it would seem a little too high.

The rest of the EP, while adapting much of the same formula as the opener, somehow fails to deliver the same impact or punch that instantly demanded the listeners’ attention on Equinox. This said however, there are still moments on here where Damascus show glimpses of real talent and while not reaching the bruising apex of what has come before, tracks like Borealis and in particular Khalida, are fine examples of solid, uncompromising and melodic post rock.

It feels that Damascus have maybe shot themselves in the foot by putting their best foot forward (please excuse the foot puns), with the decision to open the EP with what is clearly its strongest track. So while it completely takes away from the rest of Salutations, Distant Satellite! this can surely be taken on board and used as a learning curve by the young New Jerseyans. With plans to release another EP later this year it will be interesting to see how Damascus develop and ascertain from their debut outing.

Listen to Salutations, Distant Satellite! here