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.