Logical Dreamlike Explosions In The Wilderness

Today is miserable in old London town, so I thought I would double down on two masterful acts releasing new records in anticipation of new albums this year. First up is Texan gods Explosions In The Sky. They have already released a feverish first track in 'Disintegration Anxiety' which hinted at a change of pace. 'Logic Of A Dream' is more EITS in its anthemic majesty, although there is a sonorous wash that bleeds into a Beatles-esque orchestral spiral and fluttering militaristic drums to the first third of the track here that certainly continues this push into weirder territory. And also continuing with their film clips being subtly changing photographs - how change bleeds incrementally yet irrefutably forth. Both tracks feature on the band's forthcoming album The Wilderness (pre-order here - you can get your own mug or slipmat too if you want!) and their Euro tour, where they play the Royal Albert Hall April 25. Yeeeeeeeeeees.

Disintegrating Explosions In The Wilderness

Texas gods Explosions In The Sky are releasing a new album! The Wilderness is the follow-up to 2011’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (although they have been involved in soundtracks for the films Lone Survivor, Prince Avalanche and Manglehorn). Having received a ticket to see them play at Royal Albert Hall in April for Christmas, this news is spiking my excitement exponentially. That said, it looks like some EITS preconceptions may have to be left at the door. The first track from it, ‘Disintegration Anxiety’, is a much more tetchy, synthetically-washed beast than anything the four-piece have put together before. Words such as “ambitious” and “aggressive” have been bandied about on press releases, and there is a ominous foreboding that permeates this song. Still, the trademark shimmering orchestration and guitar interplay is, as would be expected, central to the piece. When I listened to it the first time, I enjoyed it but wasn’t transcended the way I usually am when I listen to these guys. I have listened to this song in excess of eighteen times today – and it’s a kneejerk reaction, an impulsive need to hit replay. There is definitely something lurking underneath the surface here that has latched on and won’t let me go – bodes very well for the rest of the album – a hypnotic narcotic to add to the rest of this amazing band’s history. Pre-order The Wilderness here (with limited edition red and maroon etched vinyl - always looking out for you...)

Know Your Amulets

I have a lot of exterior noise around me lately - work, aspirations, neighbours, finances, dreams, all crowded in on me like a leaning tower of shit, ready to tumble at the slightest movement. And while the name Know Your America doesn't apply to my existential state of mind, the music across this ambient stunner by the artist Amulets does. It comes from the mind of Randall Taylor, an Austin, Texas sound collagist who took a series of vintage 70s children's history booklets and crafted an oscillating, pastoral dream state to mirror the nostalgia inherent within. Amulets often deals with darker drone terrain (head over to his site to see the depth of his excellence), but here Taylor taps into the base emotional heft that instrumental titans like Explosions In The Sky carve out of the air - and it's honestly breathtaking.

Tiny Fingers

The Fall, the new album from Israeli band Tiny Fingers (it's their fourth), has totally blindsided me. The swirling, atmospheric intensity that comes with these coalescing psych squalls, complete with organ, took my breath away. 'Traveller Sound' emulates the dizzying acrobatics that Battles do so well; the proggy flourishes and indulgences on tracks like 'Dispatcher' fly the freakout flag as diligently and mind-meltingly as The Mars Volta (whom thee band has supported in the past). But it is how good these intricate instrumentals build and breathe that is stunning - from the frenetic, kinetic title track to the contemplative yet bombastic 'Music For The Sun' (which seems to tip the hat to Yes, Pink Floyd, Eluvium and Explosions In The Sky, all through a very idiosyncratic filter). The Fall is breathtaking and transcendental - I haven't said enough about it. Let's hope this record explodes, because Tiny Fingers are that good.

This Will Destroy You Into Dust(ism)

I'm running out of time - I'm using my parents' internet in their newsagency and they are locking up the shop (it's not anywhere near as bottom-of-the-barrel sounding as you think!), but I need to end today on this note. Texan instrumental giants This Will Destroy You WILL DESTROY YOU - I have seen them play twice (although not since before their deeper, darker sojourn into doomier scapes, Tunnel Blanket) and they blew my head off - and they are back to do it all again with new record Another Language. This is the first taste off it - and it has been my day-closer for over a week now. Coming out on Suicide Squeeze Records in the States and Hobbledehoy Records in Australia, Another Language promises to combine the more elegant brushstrokes of their first release Young Mountain with the full-scale damage they explored on Tunnel Blanket - and 'Dustism' permeates the soul because of it. Think Explosions In The Sky and Mono melding minds - huge statement, but I can't unstate it. Cannot wait for this to drop in the latter months. You can pre-order the 2xLP album Another Language (on rich opaque blue vinyl no less) here, out through Hobbledehoy Records.

American Football Replay

I have only been a fan of the self-titled debut record from Chicago trio American Football for the past couple of years. The fact that it is the band's only full-length release heightens the appeal; the fact that they barely played any shows before disbanding piques the interest further; the fact that Mike Kinsella went on to play in another band with only one release (up until last month), Owls, and his brother Tim formed Joan Of Arc, makes the short-lived fire that much more fervent. Now fifteen years on from its initial release in 1999, Polyvinyl has seen fit to reissue American Football - and I for one am so excited about the prospect of having this on vinyl for the first time. Never heard of it? Maybe not. But if you are a fan of Explosions In The Sky or other introspective, gossamer-knitted, emotive instrumental bands (see most of Temporary Residence's early roster), then you have tasted their influence. They aren't entirely devoid of lyrics though - yet on tracks like opener 'Never Meant' they perfectly encapsulate the tone and timbre of the music itself, playing out as a true complement rather than a counterpoint or embellishment. But what makes American Football such a great record is the emotional resonance that emanates from its very pores, something that very few bands (excepting the aforementioned Explosions...) can evoke. It for me is a true, deserved holder of the term timeless.

You can pre-order American Football here - it's out May 20. The deluxe edition includes an album's worth of rare live recordings, demos, and practice sessions (in which the group rehearsed material they never recorded elsewhere) to complement the original record. Beautifully expanded packaging incorporates new
photographs from Chris Strong along with lyrics, detailed liner notes written by the band, and never-before-seen band pictures. The below unreleased track is 'The 7s', which comes from a 1997 live recording. IT WAS THE FIRST SONG THEY EVER WROTE. It was the set closer until they wrote my favourite track (neck and neck with 'Honestly'), 'Stay Home'. They discarded this - most bands will never write something this good in their lives. Incredible.

A Vitriolic Carpetbombing Turns Into A Five Star Harmony

Without naming names, I had an “interesting” conversation with another music journalist about the idea of the perfect album – that is, a five star review. The argument was an incredibly flawed one – in that, was I “sure” something was a five star review; how can you make such a call early on in the year when nothing else has come out – seriously, I was left fuming at the inanity of it all. Music isn’t governed by when it comes out! Sure, placement at certain times of the year may affect sales, but that has nothing to do with the artistic integrity of the creative process. People can release an album twenty years after they wrote it and it is as relevant if not more so than when it was written.

I kick off with this because the aforementioned argument centred around Melbourne troupe Harmony’s sophomore album, Carpetbombing. Again, without naming names, you will be able to find that review floating around the ether, an that it is not in fact a five star album. This post is to rectify the matter – for I thought it was a brilliant album on the first listen, and it continues to be so some three constant weeks later. Every word in that review is on the money, deliberated over and warranted – the score, not so.

Why am I deeming that this is a perfect album, and so intent to prove it so? Because I can understand to points of contention from many here – a) is there such a thing as a perfect album anyway, and b) the aesthetic value of an unique band such a band as Harmony is divisive at best, thus proving such strong assertions is likely to be swayed towards the “diehard” fans. And I want this post to at the end of the day make someone on “the other side of the fence” come to Carpetbombing with an open mind, attempting to see what has been achieved, and maybe be in the same banged-up aluminium dinghy of opinion as I. Whether it will be a solitary ride or one so overflowing with supporters that we drown in the euphoria remains to be seen…

OK. Harmony. A hard sell on paper – the lead guy from roughshod rockers with blue-collar flannel etched in their veins The Nation Blue, together with his wife; the cantankerous bassist from defunct Welsh acidic nihilists Mclusky; and a trio of Syrens. This motley crew combines to create cracked, burdened, working-class anthems that straddle the fence between gospel preachers and self-flagellating masochists. But the band have an inherent knack for finding the heart-rending in the bent string; the transcendent in the throttled vernacular; the epiphany in an acoustic three-part harmony. Carpetbombing takes this to the absolute limit.

From the opening strains of 'The Closing Of The Day', a Dirty Three meander through the broken glass of despair, you know what to expect. But then rather than a baritone, a yowl or a soaring choral waver, you have the gravel-encrusted voice of Don Walker. This is a daring way to start - on a complete downer, the sweat and the tar of the street sticking underneath your fingernails before we're two minutes in.

(Photo by Linda Wales)

But god if Tom and co don't know what they're doing. 'Water Runs Cold' is hushed, then fervent; the idea that the shower can be the only place to hide from the world, then that comfort is stolen from you too, is gut-wrenching in its maudlin simplicity, but is somehow uplifting too. Tom's guitar arpeggio kicks in a final third that feels somehow redemptive, watching the shit of life run down the drain, even as the stab of cold turns the reprieve into yet another painstaking endeavour.

(photo by Linda Wales)

And this is the utter breathtaking beauty of Harmony - everything is emotion; head in hands, heart impaled on sleeve, larynx raw, waterworks of anguish and passion. Yet there are those moments too when there is sweetness amongst the bitter bile of the banal, and this comes from the ingenious inclusion of the Erica Dunn, Quinn Veldhuis and Amanda Roff. Their sonorous, lilting vocals are strong yet supple; soft yet harbingers of inevitability; sanguine yet filled with chagrin. They are the heavenly hosts exacerbating the salt-of-the-earth travesties, looking down on the flannel and makeshift tattoos of the outer suburbanite, the wartorn soldier, the little lamb lost to addiction, avarice and guilt - Milton of the squats, the shelters, the streets, the squalor - the working-class Paradise Lost. And yet Carpetbombing once again eschews the churchly labels that get somewhat understandably placed upon them by continually showing us that there is no Heaven or Hell, no God, no Satan. There is only the Self - as dark, as isolated, as self-pitying, as hopeless as our nightmares relentlessly convey. And Harmony also prove that whilst the darkness is within, so is the light. By the time the close-to-title track Carpetbomb rings out, you have been rung through a broiling, emotional ringer. But this is all about euphoria, catharsis, redemption. And instead of shirking away, it's time to listen again, accompanied by that all-pervading radiance that is the knowledge that no matter what happens - YOU WILL BE OK.

So yeah. I like Carpetbombing. I think it's already a contender for album of 2014. It could be the best thing that any of these artists have put their name alongside. And yes - it's a five star review.

You can get Carpetbombing here.

Rebirth Of A Dead Meadow

I'm a massive fan of psychedelic rock music of all kinds, but especially the heavier, dirgier kind. I think the genesis of this may have come with discovering Led Zeppelin with my dad (who, whilst not a musical aficionado, did also introduce me to Johnny Cash, Australian Crawl, The Boss and 'Brothers In Arms' era Dire Straits, which I still have a soft spot for). The first album I can recall truly grabbing me in this mould though was The Warlocks' Rise & Fall, which was playing at the old Rockinghorse Records store PA back in 2002 (and a record very close to my heart). I've been a hapless acolyte ever since...

I haven't had the pleasure of bathing in the cavernous dirge of Jason Simon and his Dead Meadow brethren as yet - but again I have a sort of origin story for these guys too. Before wholesale piracy was passe, I remember being stuck out in the middle of nowhere in 2003 (Roma, Queensland to be exact) on my first stationed education position with nothing to do, so I delved into Amazon's then music website, CDNow. I discovered some pretty amazing things that year through that thing (Neutral Milk Hotel, Explosions In The Sky, Mono, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead), one of them also being Dead Meadow's third LP Shivering Kings & Others. From there it was The Black Angels, Black Mountain - further down the spiral I would go.

As the years have gone by I have drifted somewhat from the "lightening" of Dead Meadow's aesthetic - despite the excellence of Feathers (2005), 2008's Old Growth didn't grab me at all, whilst I only gave 2010's Three Kings a cursory once-over. I have to say though that new album Warble Womb is a true return to form (some people will strenuously argue that the form never dissipated - whatever). Certainly more sonorous and less kosmiche than compatriots Wooden Shjips, Dead Meadow does have the same propensity for creating a cyclical, familiar groove that permeates their records - Warble Womb is no exception. But when you have the lackadaisical, off-kilter wooze of a track like 'Mr Chesty' or a roiling magma purge like 'This Song Is Over', you can't deny the trio's inimitable power. And this might be a bit of cribbing (who doesn't in this genre?), but 'I'm Cured' sounds like the sun-blasted paisley malaise of The Warlocks - full circle.

They aren't mellowing out so much as becoming one with their mystical powers, and Warble Womb may be the moment that I fuse with them. They are still masters of the domain, after all...

Warble Womb is out through their Xemu Records label - I have no idea where to get it. Hassle them I guess? But never fear. Stream the entire record here.

Pushing Breedlings' Lungs All Over The Velodrome

As I'm not overly familiar with the bands that have burst out of the hallowed halls of Cambridge, England other than Pink Floyd, I can't let you in on the history of angularity and dissonance. That said, I met a guy in a pub there that loved my Explosions In The Sky T-shirt, and he then proceeded to school me in all kinds of awesome music. I believe I gave back as good as I got. I wish I knew his name - or indeed the pub. Swallowed in misty memories marred by substances far and wide, I'm afraid.

So I have no geographical reference when it comes to listening to this triple-A release from Cambridge trio Breedlings, other than to say that this kind of post-punk excellence is like the cast-off and eaten embryo twin of God Bows To Math - there are Minutemen references a plenty here too, and whilst it's a little more straight up the line than the NZ juggernaut, you could hear these guys doing a mean cover of 'Slow Decline'. And a band comfortable enough to release three tracks of equal merit is good enough for me. Discord is well and truly on the table here - a smorgasbord of collegiate angst, bubbling along the Punt, overflowing in bitter bile. Good times.

Splendid Spook Houses Of America

This song has saved my life today. After a heady weekend at Splendour In The Grass (working on reviews and publications, seeing some great sets from Explosions In The Sky, Father John Misty, Mudhoney and Dirty Three, but mainly having a hazy blast with friends and "acquaintances"), travelling back to Brisbane from Byron Bay at 6am wasn't conducive to a happy Uncle Masala. Then I stumbled across New Jersey quartet Spook Houses and their track 'American' that is on their upcoming LP Trying. That flat vocal when he drawls "I'm drunk and I feel like shit" says it all, let alone the fat bass line and the explosion of happy noise halfway through the blistering track. It's an anthem towards the inane beauty inherent in being young and dumb, which is usually what going to a festival is fuelled by. I know nothing else about this band AT ALL, but this is enough. They saved my life - now I am indebted to Spook Houses.


Trying is out soon on Philly label Evil Weevil. You can pre-order it here.

In The Glow Of Arbor Lights

Arbor Lights are an instrumental four-piece from Birmingham, England. They brought out a five track self titled EP (with great cover arearlier in the year which is pretty good, with some real cracks in their opening and closing tracks. There are elements of And So I Watch You From Afar, some Explosions In The Sky, and the young quartet pull it all off.


You can grab Arbor Lights here.

Arbor Lights - El Aborlito
Arbor Lights - Codat)

VIDEO VACUUM - Explosions In The Sky, Joe McKee, Nikko, Fever Fever

Hectic personal life and hectic working life means my social life is taking a battering this week. As in, I don't have one. SO I'm locking myself away to reach deadlines and save cashola, all the while knowing there are at least four great shows on this weekend, three of which are one-offs (Eat Laser Scumbag! Nova Scotia! Keep On Dancins! Concentric Circuits! Erm...The Sips!) ARGH! So I really need encouragement. Here are some videos that are perking up my downward spiral...

No surprises that the first cab off the ranks is one of my all-time favourites, Austin gods Explosions In The Sky. This video for the brilliant 'Postcard From 1952' is their third from their latest record Take Care Take Care Take Care. Reminiscent of the also-stellar video for Youth Lagoon's 'Montana' in my opinion. Check it out (and, in my case, over and over...)



Joe McKee used to lead the darkly brilliant and sadly defunct Perth via London act Snowman, whose third album Absence made out best of lists last year. He hasn't been sitting idle - his first foray in solo guise is ready to drop! It's called Burning Boy, and will be available through Dot Dash/Remote Control on Friday May 25 (the day a certain music blog is hosting its best live lineup yet - coincidence? I think not! Actually, it is.) Here is the understated first single, 'Darling Hills'.



Another SM fave is Brissie Australian Gothic western marauders Nikko, and they too have a new LP in the wings. Gold & Red isn't out for a while yet (July 3 to be exact), but it sounds suitably apocalyptic. Yet it ain't all doom and gloom, as 'Smoke Alarms' (from their 7" precursor) attests. Here is the slick video:



Finally, some teething from Norwich, England's "finest" Fever Fever. 'The Chair' doesn't necessarily have the bombast and bite that 'Teeth' had, but the menace pervades this track. It's a gentle reminder that not all is well - and that I'm not going softly into the dark, dark night people...



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Recreating A Papier Tigre

French outfit Papier Tigre (pronounced “Papyeah Teegrr”)'s third album Recreation (out on Africantape) has an element of surprise to it. The band teamed up with John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, the Roots, Bill Callahan, The pAper chAse...) in order to push the limits of their their unit into a devastatingly efficient performance. It is intriguing, and although the vocals grate on me a little, the musical interplay offers some fervent schizophrenia that I like a lot - plus the lack of a bass means they have to work harder to achieve that bottom-end. They just supported Explosions In The Sky in Paris last month, so things are certainly on the up and up.

Recreation is out March 1.

Papier Tigre 'Home Truth' by Murailles Music

Ding Dong, Post Rock Is Not Dead!

Pan hail from South Carolina, and are all about claiming post-rock back. The much maligned genre is the dumping ground for basically any band that plays without vocals nowadays, and a lot of bands are quite vocal about not wanting it tagged to their creative outlet. So I'm all for Pan claiming it, even if its tongue in cheek. Their debut EP is titled Post Rock Is Not Dead, and it finds an amazing middle ground between the ebullient, effortlessly fun sounds of Fang Island with the grandiose sounds of obvious touchstones Explosions In The Sky - and there isn't much in the way of grandstanding, posturing or pilfering to be found. Its a solid release all round, and seeing as I love me my instrumentals, that is an infinitely good thing!

Pan - Seeking (the Sea King)

Grab Post Rock Is Not Dead here!

Some Touring Deets For Brisbane Folks...

OK, so this is random and heaps of bands come and go, but I thought I should relay at least a few national and international acts that are doin their thang very soon in the capital of Queensland...

Starting small (in many ways), local band Tiny Spiders (whose 'Shadows' vid we showed yesterday) are vebnturing out this week for a quick tet-a-tet -

Friday September 9th @ The Crown & Anchor, Adelaide
/w Fake Tan, Beige Abrasion

Saturday September 10th @ The Cornish Arms, Melbourne
/w Passport For Amy, The Battery Kids

Plus a whole lot of other stuff, Im sure...


Akron/Family are closing the GOMA Surrealism Up Late program September 30th. Unfortunately this one is sold out, but they are playing interstate - hit their website for details. This will be an amazing show...


Monolithic Japanese post-rockers Mono are hitting the Hi Fi Bar full force on Wednesday October 5. This promises to be one of those shows that takes the quiet/loud dynamic to breaking-point extremes, where in the space between you will hear a pin drop, along with your jaw. Get tix here.


Alt-country heroes Okkervil River are playing the Hi Fi Bar Wednesday October 19, in what is their fifth sojourn to these fine shores. The Texan six-piece come armed with a swag of new songs from their recently released sixth album, I Am Very Far, which is a startling break from anything the band has ever created before. Terrifying and joyous, violent and serene, grotesque and romantic. It's a celebration of forces beyond their control. This is likely to sell out, so get on these ASAP.


This year's Meredith Music festival is massive, but with the current trickle of side-shows about to turn into a flood come December, missing out won't be a hard pill to swallow. Already some of the bands have announced shows, including the seminal Mudhoney (The Zoo, Monday December 5th), the abrasively brilliant Future Of The Left (The Zoo, Tuesday December 6th), and the untouchable Explosions In The Sky (Hi Fi Bar, Tuesday December 13).

Most of these international tours are put on by the brilliant Handsome Tours.

Fierce And The Dead

Here is another band that has taken me forever and a day to get around to talking about - so long in fact that they are prepping a new release before Ive talked about the last one! We bonded over a love of Explosions In The Sky and Fucked Up, so it was a no-brainer - yet for whatever reason it kept getting pushed back in the line. That just wasn't cool, so hopefully this makes amends.


The guys in question go by the name of The Fierce & The Dead. Now before you get all antsy, this has no relation to the "awesome" Sam Raimi Western of a similar name, when Leo was still a squinty douche, Sharon Stone was some semblance of attractive, Gene Hackman still made films (and was yet to meet Ray Romano - that would kill anyone's love of acting), and Russell Crowe played a priest (!) - although that would have been kinda cool... No, these guys, hailing from London, are all about creating their own world, something pure and distilled (they even released the debut LP, If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe on their own label, Spencer Park Music) - and in the main they succeed. It takes true mastery to takle the instrumental rock genre and make something unique and exciting. The UK though are full of bands that do it well - That Fucking Tank!, These Monsters, And So I Watch You From Afar - and you can firmly place The Fierce And The Dead in that higher echelon. Its the diversity and chameleonic nature of the quartet that helps them to continually evolve - a bit like Tortoise, really. Now that's gotta be a good thing...

Grab If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe here.

The Earth Is A Man...And A Song...And An Album...And A Video...

The more I listen to Illinios post rock act The Earth Is A Man, the more I dig it. Why? Because it isn't just a rip off of Explosions In The Sky (although those influences are definitely evident). It also isn't Maps & Atlases' style intricate math stylings (although there's some of that in there too). And these aren't just guitar sound collages (although Black Eagle Child and his ilk must have looked over their shoulders on a number of occasions here). No, The Earth Is A Man is no singular thing. There are connections everywhere - but it's a small world after all, is it not? What is provided are filmic, stylised slices of instrumental rock that cram so much within their relatively small time frames, and do it proficiently and - most importantly - with finesse and heart. Maybe we should call this, as their PR says, "epic math prog filmic instrumental cumulative bearded Chicago Kraut Allman Chrono Eno rock music"? Or it could just be friends playing music together and having a great time. And trust me - you will too.

Name your price, and you can get the album here.



And because its such a beautiful day - Ive seen Mogwai, Warpaint, Modest Mouse, and The Kills amongst many others in the past 24 hours - why not get some visuals to this excellence? This is the video for The Earth Is A Man's second track of the self-titled album, 'You Might Have A Moustache"...

The Earth is A Man - You Might Have A Moustache from Dana Lorraine Pavisich on Vimeo.

VIDEO VACUUM - Explosions In The Sky, Fucked Up, Vitamins, Harmony Acapella

Its been about a fortnight since we celebrated a few moving images that accompanying a suite of sound otherwise known as a song, so lets get sucked up in the Video Vacuum and see what transpires, hmmm?

First up is monumental. Texan instrumental gods Explosions In The Sky have actually done their 1st ever video! Its for 'Last Known Surroundings' off this year's stellar Take Care Take Care Take Care, and it is an animated gem. Not that you need visuals with music this beautiful, but let's see what happens, ok?

Last Known Surroundings from Explosions in the Sky on Vimeo.

Next we have Canadian powerhouse punks Fucked Up, and the six-minute video for 'Queen Of Hearts' off their opus David Comes To Life. 80 minutes of Fucked up in a recorded environment, regardless of whether its conceptual or not, is heaven to me, so this video has certainly been on repeat the past week...



Denver group Vitamins have graced Video Vacuum a few times this year, and now its their time again. They have a video for the B-side of their current 7", called 'The Disappearance Of David Lee Powell'. Great. Now can you hurry up and put some more music out please? I love this 7", but two songs does not sate me!

Vitamins - The Disappearance of David Lee Powell from Motion Sickness of Time Travel on Vimeo.

Finally we have a special video of the three chanteuses that make up the backing choir of my new favourite Australian band - nay, just new favourite band - Harmony, doing some vocal warm ups in a stairwell. The acoustics are haunting, the intertwining vocals beguiling. A great way to finish methinks!



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!!

Cast In The Middle

Can you believe that The Appleseed Cast have been around since 1997? Yeah, a long time. I heard a track of theirs back in 2003 when I was stranded in Roma, a small town in the middle of Queensland, Australia. I was starved for music, and it was that experience that started my journey of searching further and wider (via the internet - podunk cowpoke covers bands dont cut the mustard with me) for that next sonic fix. It reaped its own dividends - Explosions In The Sky being the biggest "discovery" - but I also came across TAC's 'Max' on Deep Elm Records' The Emo Diaries No. 2 (seriously, that's what the compilation is called!) and really enjoyed the complexities of it. They have ebbed and flowed as far as musical prowess goes, but there have been moments on albums such as Low Level Owl and Peregrine that they have courted true excellence.

Its kind of fitting that I was in the middle of nowhere when I heard TAC for the first time, as they themselves are from a similar clime - Lawrence, Kansas to be exact - and their new EP, Middle States, is pretty much about that experience. Its an addictive little 4 song player, one which has been going around and around here since receiving it a couple weeks ago. It holds onto the warmth that has been creeping into their post-rock sound over the past few years, and gives us a little insight into where they and we are heading for their eighth album due next year.


Middle States is out in June via Graveface Records.

The Appleseed Cast - Middle States
The Appleseed Cast - End Frigate Constellation

Take Care Of Falling Explosions

I think You all know what Im going to say about the new Explosions In The Sky album, evocatively titled Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. "Yeah yeah yeah, obligatory grovelling, wild gesticulations, self-flagellations and degradations aside, there is nothing special there. The guy is an Explosions... tragic, therefore the album is shitter than a haemorrhoid after a daily diet of Cajun chicken".

Ok, so you think Im biased? Yes, it is true, I do worship at the altar of this Texan instrumental band. but have you ever heard anything as sublime as this band? Nothing can create the full gamut of emotions through sound that this band can. And this album, whilst not necessarily reinventing their own wheel, offers greater scope upon which their emotive atmospherics can be adorned. The most differing track of theirs here would have to be 'Trembling Hands', with the synth adding a further sense of urgency to what is also close to their shortest track ever committed to tape. But it is when they explore the paradigms of their sonic boundaries that they truly soar.

Actually, you know what? You are all right - I am far too biased to give the best objective review of this, or any, album by this band. There isnt a single track of theirs that has ever disappointed me, and the new album proves this rule. Im listening to album for months now - it has taken all my willpower not to gush all over this site about it til now - and it still gets to me. Best band ever? Quite possibly...

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care comes out next week through Temporary Residence.

Explosions In The Sky - Trembling Hands

Explosions In The Sky - Let Me Back In