It seems like the port of call nowadays that when a hardcore or post-hardcore act implodes or reaches its final stages, various members branch out into realms totally unbecoming of their past output. Acoustic balladry; obnoxious house; ambient soundscapes - there is no limit to the tangents that have been taken. This is somewhat true for Brisbane act
Stress Waves too, seeing as its members converge from the embers of To The North, Quiet Steps and Throes. Yet these bands haven't necessarily been obvious poster children for the hardcore throngs, what with To The North's sonic balleticism and Quiet Steps' evolution from a bile-spitting maelstrom to something more poetic, more refined, yet always potent. Stress Waves feeds off these creative juices, and the three tracks that make up
Lost Lustre perfectly frame this. There are elements of coldwave isolation here, as well as more than a bearing resemblance to post punk's melancholic Manchester origins (Errol Hoffman is also in Make More, so that kinda makes sense too). These tracks are almost archaic, however - steeped in Casio simplicity yet awash with ideas, either the product of out-of-time pioneers or a concerted effort to leap into icy waters without reservation. The trio also reference The Cure,
Final Fantasy XII and
Akira as their influences, and with the blue-tinted urban cover art, the sparsity of the production and the otherworldly textures this approach creates, such disparate touchstones are actually warranted (if a little tongue in cheek).
You can grab
Lost Lustre in name-your-price digital
here. Hopefully we'll see Stress Waves playing live shows in more regular bursts soon.
