The Sea Shall Not Have Them Again

In November 2012 I had just finished off a year of putting on gigs under the Sonic Masala banner with the album launch for Gold Coast-based instrumental duo The Sea Shall Not Have Them. That album, Mouth, was one of my favourites of that year, a totally underappreciated post-rock-metal-whatever piece that held considerable heft seeing that only two men were responsible for that racket. Since that show they have gone on to support both Russian Circles and Pelican, and have now released new EP Walking Through Walls/Elim. The two track release clocks in at 24 minutes, so there needs to be a lot of time invested in this - but God is it worth it. I have to say that this is not only the best thing that TSSNHT has done - but it's the best release of this ilk I have heard this year. It is a perilous task nowadays to craft instrumental rock without it sounding in any way derivative. The two songs here - the fourteen minute behemoth 'Walking Through Walls' and the "minuscule" ten minute 'Elim' - focus on building a cavernous atmosphere, bleeding out the nuances and emotions, with a delay and slightly dulled production that shaves the edge off the band's precision. This is an imminently good thing because most "post-rock" bands in this day and age focus so much on precision and production values, that there is no mystique involved - it is all contrived and obvious. The chimes in 'Walking Through Walls' gives a Mono delicacy - there is a patience here at building the layers, rather than a join-the-dots necessity to drag a tune out minute after minute. 'Elim' has a more sinister bent but is nonetheless patient in doling out the atmospherics. And when the catharsis arrives, it isn't in an explosion of noise and theatrics (and don't get me wrong, I love that when it's done right - that's why Mogwai is my favourite live band) but a controlled roar that never loses focus. This isn't about ticking boxes. It is a little grandiose - the piano in the last element of 'Elim' in particular - but grandiosity is welcome when the foundations warrant it.

Grab Walking Through Walls/Elim here.

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.

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.

Faspeedelay Offer Skittish Atmospherics With Ghost On The Waterfront

 

Last year I got to see exciting Melbourne instrumental trio Faspeedelay do a show at the Waiting Room in Brisbane as part of a Ghost Notes vinyl launch (The Scrapes also played – it was a great lineup). Faspeedelay offer up the kind of asymmetrical, rhythmic sonics that are often found wanting in other instrumental rock bands – these guys are more steeped in the experimental noise side of things, preferring references of post-punkers like Wipers and Gang of Four rather than the quiet/loud dynamism of the Mogwais and Monos of the genre.

And now we can revel in the release of their debut LP Ghost On The Waterfront, - seven tracks of wiry, combustible energy and serrated time signatures. I especially like opener 'Goat Dance', the skitter and swirl of 'Don’t Let Me Go' and the understated atmospherics of 'In The Zone'. Faspeedelay insist that the listener invests time in their music – and if you oblige, you will be rewarded with a heady, cerebral mind melt with the mother lode of payoffs.

 

You can glean Ghost On The Waterfront (out through Audio Actions) here.

Condre Scr Are Genius

I have been listening to this album for months and thought Id already posted about, but alas this has not been the case. I love me some ace post-rock, yet new good stuff can be hard to find. You Are Genius, German band Condre Scr's 2nd LP (and 1st in six years!), certainly isn't anything new - in fact for the majority of its playing time the album could be outtakes from the early days of Scottish gods Mogwai. But that is the kicker, right there - whilst still an amazing band, Mogwai killed in the early days. As does You Are Genius. 'Boca' could be offshoots from the Ten Rapid and Young Team sessions respectively (with a little Mono thrown in for good luck); 'Remo Boys' could be 'Cody's long lost cousin. But it doesn't feel pilfered at all; far from it, which is the miracle and majesty of the band's work. Nothing feels bloated, overwrought, full of its own importance. In fact, none of the eight songs exceed six minutes.


You Are Genius is exactly that - genius. Make sure you pick up this amazing record (put out by Oxide Tones) here.

Condre Scr - Boca
Condre Scr - Kong Me

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.

Ignorance Is Liturgical A(n)esthesia

I know that Im opening myself up to some ear bashing here Im sure, especially from fans of Liturgy, the Brooklyn based self described transcendental black metal band who've just released their 2nd album Aesthethica on Thrill Jockey. I kinda get the black metal thing - but I really like them, and I on a whole despise black metal. So what Im saying is, this isnt black metal. Sure, their highly technical musicianship and blindingly high intensity level, combined with the bloodlettingly searing guttural screams, push this into that realm. But there are more influences at play here, and always have been, that invoke something else entirely. Their music is as steeped in hardcore, post-rock/post-metal and experimentation for them to fit comfortably into that rather constrictive categorisation. And on Aesthethica, Liturgy prove it, whether they want to or not. Joe Hemmerling over at Tiny Mix Tapes put it beautifully: "Liturgy is an ideal illustration of the paradox he describes: a band steeped in the trappings of black metal, but incorporating the vernaculars of no wave and minimalism, a sound both punishing and expansive that threatens to rip down the heavens, even as it throws its arms wide to embrace them."

Fittingly my entry into this epic album was 'Generation', a cyclical tour de force of an instrumental that for its seven minute running time had me in ecstatic throes. Then the other major instrumental, 'Veins Of God', offered up more monstrous riffs, and amazing drumming, a Swans' like dirge brutality. Opener 'High Gold' is closer to the thrust of black metal, but mainly due to vocalist Hunter Hunt-Hendrix swirling, nihilistic wails. In fact, its the vocals that insist on this pigeonholing - certainly not the instrumentation. Greg Fox's drumming is fucking sublime, and not in a double kick drum beat as fast as you can kind of way. The beats, fills and runs this guy gets off in most of these tracks are jaw-dropping, yet inform and drive the songs rather than create excessive whimsy. Indeed, there is enough technical acumen here to please a million metallers - and a track like 'True Will' seems especially catered to them - but any semblance of staid musicianship (at least in this genre - all metalheads are in some way virtuosos on how they manhandle their instruments) is shied away from. Shit, the guitar interplay in 'Sun Of Light' even bears resemblances to Battles! There's a two and a half minute electronic instrumental in 'Helix Skull'! 'Glory Bronze''s intro sounds ripped straight out of an early Mono album! Penultimate track 'Glass Earth' could be Animal Collective! Which leads into closer 'Harmonia' which ends on a surprisingly stereotypical, yet in this context epiphanous, metal outro!

You see, this is what we are dealing with here. But in the end, looking who is putting out their albums - Thrill Jockey, the premiere label for artists that experiment and transcend their genres.

As for the religious slant - other than the fact its labelled black metal, Hunt-Hendrix screams a lot and there's skewed iconography on their album sleeve, I dont know. I cant understand a word the guy yells. Just immerse yourself in this beautifully bludgeoning sound...



Liturgy - Generation
Liturgy - Red Crown

Travolta Given The Chance At Another Comeback - via Oxford

The Rock Of Travolta hail from Oxford, a place that along with Leeds has produced its fair share of post rock behemoths in the past. The quintet have been around for a while - their last LP, the critically well-received and John Peel endorsed Uluru, came out eight years ago back in 2003, and Radiohead personally chose them to support them after its release - and finally, after a self-imposed exile and a lineup change, they are ready to drop their newie, Fine Lines.

The band - Jennie Bates alternating between playing bass, keyboards and cello, Matt Spooner playing guitar, bass and keyboards, Dave Warrington on guitar, Joe Durow on drums and Jon Carter playing bass - have carved out nine songs of bombastic, meaty riffs, coupled with thunderous percussive beats and atmospherics due to electronic glitches and the majesty of strings. There are times that you feel it shouldn't work, especially on opener 'Rock By Numbers', but it invariably does - 'The Goddamn Remote' is one track that showcases all elements of TROT's repertoire. Yet their most complete piece is the closer 'Something's Wrong With The TV Generation' - a slow building track that follows in the tire tracks of Mono or Slint at their earliest and most beautifully brutal. Good stuff.

Fine Lines is out on Big Red Sky Records on March 14th. The Rock Of Travolta will be playing at Monto Water Rats March 9th - well worth checking out.

The Rock Of Travolta - Last March Of The Acolytes
The Rock Of Travolta - Something's Wrong With The TV Generation

The Exceptional Empire Express - Heavenly Brilliance

The post/krautrock ensemble Empire Express are based in Stockholm, Sweden. The band has been embraced by artists like Broken Social Scene, Stars and Faust - all Canadian bands/artists/collectives, and won The Music Think Tank International Awards & Festival 2010 in their genre with the song 'Stronge 7 km'. Their "top friends" on Myspace list Explosions In The Sky, Mono, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, ...And You Will Know Us From The Trail Of Dead, Do Make Say Think and Dinosaur Jr. They have only played a handful of shows, almost all of which have been in their home country.

And whilst this will give an indication of the calibre of this group, forget all that. You must know only this - Valleyland is fucking amazing. This is the kind of post-rock album that the titans refrain from making anymore, so thank you Empire Express! Valleyland has the perfect blend of harmonious melodies, whimsy and cascading sonics, so much so that opener 'Stronge 7km' - their first ever written song - was hailed by Faust's Zappi Diermaier as his favourite song ever. And he isnt half wrong - this entire album is exquisite, in the way that Explosions In The Sky are, but with horns. Thats Empire Express in a nutshell then - Explosions... with horns.

If this band doesnt go stratospheric this year, its a crime. Do not miss out on this one - pick it up ASAP and guaranteed it will become jammed in your subconscious for days - nay, months - to come. Gush...

Valleyland is out now through Western Lodge Records.

Empire Express - Stronge 7km
Empire Express - Asil (part 1)

Sonic Masala's Fave Gigs of 2010!

OK, so we have seen a hell of a lot of gigs this year, so much so that it has been hard to keep track! So over a couple of Doom Bars on Sunday we tried to nut it all out, and still managed to miss a couple (ah...Mono?!?!?). Anyway, with our collective hazy memories somewhat in check, here are our favourite shows that blew us away. Again, there are more than ten here - no need in splitting hairs really. And whilst still not in a rigid order, the top few were the highlights amongst the highlights...

Sonic Masala's Favourite Shows of 2010

Double Dagger - ALL OF THEM! (Lock Tavern/Rest Is Noise/Cargo

Godspeed You Black Emperor (The Troxy)

White Hills/Pontiak (The Luminaire)

Thee Silver Mt Zion Orchestra (Electric Ballroom)

Mono (Scala)

Liars (Heaven)

Deerhunter (Heaven)

Part Chimp/Sloath/Gum Takes Tooth (The Luminaire)

Fuck Buttons/Factory Floor (Heaven)

My Disco/Factory Floor/Snowman (The Lexington)

The Knife - "Tomorrow, In A Year" opera (The Barbican)

Mi Ami/Islet (Barden's Boudoir)

Pontiak (Old Blue Last)

Action Beat/Stig Noise/Shield Your Eyes (The Macbeth)

Thee Oh Sees/Sex Beet (The Luminaire/Plan B)

Women (Cargo/The Social)

TuNe-YaRdS/Trash Kit (Cargo)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring (The Zoo, Brisbane, Australia - yep, my guilty pleasure!)

One Man Band That Tears The World Asunder

I have to say that I have been positively blown away by Sweden's Sey Hollo, the project by Sebastian Larsson. Playing every instrument himself, Sey Hollo is a juggernaut. First of all, each element of the sound is played sublimely - I kinda hate Larsson for being this talented! But the second thing is that what has been created is so damn good - it seems impossible that this is all the intricate workings of just one mind. I havent heard post rock of this ilk for quite some time - avoiding the metal leanings of the likes of Pelican and Isis, or the graceful drones of Mono (which reminds me, an interesting post about Mono is in the works...), Sey Hollo has gone the more conventional route and yet created something so intrinsically heavy and yet emotional - its a real winner. Opener 'Dependistas' builds elegantly with an abrupt shift into a heavy distorted squall which I havent heard for some time; ending with a nice sample that leads into 'Eighty Five Percent', a rather disturbing piece that is as enthralling as it is eviscerating. 'A Toxic Toast To Broken Promises' uses a crazy pastiche of instrumental laments to create a monumental moment of wistful melancholia with just that pinch of hope...

As Ive stated in the past, post rock - instrumental music in general - is all about evoking the right set of emotions, and should be stronger in that aspect than most other genres of music. Sey Hollo has nailed it here.

Sey Hollo - Eighty Five Percent
Sey Hollo - Thank You Very Much

Post Rock Custom Made From Korea

Frenzy - not the most imaginative name in the world, but still - they are a band from South Korea that are thrashing out instrumental noise and are railing against their captive northern brethren through sonic weaponry (presumably...) They have just released an album, Nein Songs, that has moments of true genius. Again, when you take a frontal guitar assault on post rock, there are limited avenues that one can take and make their own. Therefore Frenzy run the risk of being cast off as being too Mono or too Explosions in their delivery (I havent placed Mogwai in here as I feel that no one has amply offered a sonic equivalent - nay, even an imitation - of their sound palette - but I am incredibly biased), and unless you have something new to bring to the table, beware...

However, I am a massive advocate for instrumental music in general, and rock in particular, and much can still be gleaned from Frenzy. 'Lily' is a slowburner with elegant moments, '안녕' is understated in its modest math rock rhythms, and songs like 'Sundance' and '소멸하는 밤 Part.2' offer some searing walls of sound and distortion that washes over you in such a way that rather than be deafened, it clears your mind to take in the quieter, more uplifting elements of the tracks.

Nein Songs is out now through TuneTable.

Frenzy - 소멸하는 밤 Part.2

The Destruction Is In The Periphery

Texan post rock legends This Will Destroy You have been busy of late. They released 1o" Moving On The Edges Of Things, in accordance with Record Store Day, have also dropped a three-track single, Communal Blood, and have given the word that snd LP Tunnel Blanket has finally finished being recorded. They will grace our presence at Underworld on 30th September (almost exactly a year on from their stellar gig at the same venue), but before hand they are playing all over the US supporting two bands of vastly differing influence, Autolux (nice!) and Deftones (random as fuck...but so so sweet!!), before laying waste to the vast majority of Europe in early Autumn. I have to say that the 10" was much darker, brooding, and curling-around-the-esophegus-evil than anything they have previously put out by a long shot, whilst 'Communal Blood' seems a real amlagam of the the 10" and 2008's self titled monster LP - sounding almost Mono in its scope... The September release of Tunnel Blanket, and that Underworld, gig, are racing up the totem pole of hotly anticipated events of the year, guaranteed.

TWDY - Communal Blood

TWDY - Rituals
TWDY - Woven Tears

Only Fools and Dead Horses

The weekend just past I spent writing, both the posts that have glutted up the blog this week and my own stuff. I should have been enjoying the beautiful weather...but that's another story...

Anyway, one SM reader alerted me to their favourite Yume Bitsu album, which I promptly hunted down, and in my excitement I bought another album of a band I hadnt even heard, let alone knew, due to the fact of that little consumerist add-on "if you like this, you might like..." Making such a hasty decision means Id been cooped up too long and needed to leave the house. But I had to at least listen to the albums before venturing out into the blinding light. Yume Bitsu's self-titled 1999 LP was magnificent - I had decided it would soundtrack my day. Then I listened to the second album...

Deadhorse is the band's name. We Can Create Our Own World is the name of the new debut album. And whilst I felt it was unfairly hamstrung by the fact I listened to Yume Bitsu first (its a truly great post-rock album; wish I had picked up on them earlier!), their effort cannot be ignored. My only touchstone would be either a gloomier, more Gothic (not to be confused with goth...) Explosions In The Sky, or a more elegaic Mono...

All in all, my Sunday was great. I went to the park, finished reading John Banville's Ghosts, started David Simon's The Corner, had a couple of Coronas, and realised no matter how shit life can get, you will always have your music. And now Deadhorse is a part of that ephemeral, existential whole. Nice.

Deadhorse - Dreaming In The Face Of Disaster

Deadhorse - Exiles

Yume Bitsu - Team Yume

Gig - Mono, Scala 15.03.10

Last year was Japanese post rock instrumental gods Mono's 10th year anniversary. To mark such a momentous occasion (and to take a break from their famed incessant touring) the brooding four piece took time out to pen Hymn To The Immortal Wind, an album that truly epitomised the evolution of the band, then toured the world with an orchestra to bring it, and their past masterpieces, to life in a very different fashion. They played at Koko in saide guise, and it was truly phenomenal...so Im told. The gig sold out months in advance, and no means of cajoling or under the counter bartering could help me snavvle one of those hot tickets. Luckily the band have also put out a THREE LP+DVD release of their show in New York called Holy Ground, so that you can pretend you were there...

So we come to January 2010, when it is announced that Mono would be playing the Scala in March. I scrambled for my tickets, thinking that they would sell like hotcakes. Which surprised me so much when, last night, there were many a punter lining up to buy tickets at the door. My exasperation needed to be quickly doused by a feverish scull of an alcoholic beverage. But no biggie - I would finally be seeing them tonight, and they wil be great...they will be great...

And how. Their set being cut down to their more intimate, straightforward style - Takaakira and Yoda (guitar) bookending Tamaki (bass) out front, with the drum kit and imperial gong that is the domain of Yasunori holding proceedings at the back. Fully clad in black ( as always - I have not seen a picture of them since their genesis in any other colour), they ambled onstage to much acclaim, giving small bows before starting into one of the most sonically immersive performance you could ever hope to participate in. It is almost impossible to describe a Mono gig (or indeed any of their ilk - Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai comes to mind) in normal musical terms, as their 'set' is not easy to define. Although it is clear that they play seven songs all up, made most clear by the short breaks in between (funnily enough), the songs are placed in order to evoke an emotion - to cast a spell. Indeed, the crowd were in total thrall, allowing each song to build up in increments, the guitarists either seated on chairs or hunched over their effects pedals, Tamaki swaying softly as her bass drove these musical behemoths forwards, Yasunori dutifully tying everything together at the back. And when each song exploded - as Mono songs are wont to do - its not so much a release, as a realisation; an epiphany. This is heavy music, but not as you know it. It is beautiful - it is cathartic - it is dark, and yet golden. When Takaakira and Yoda meet together with their squalling distorted guitars, its like two massive acts of Mother Nature coming together as one, leaving everyone dumbstruck. The fact that any song could not stand out as a highlight is a testament, not to the mediocrity, but to the attitude of the songs - that they all informed each other, so that it was an experience rather than a series of songs like your average set list. Meticulously and emotionally performed, all without a single word spoken - a truly amazing gig.

Now with the gig over, Im not sure what to do with myself. I still rue the lost opportunity of missing Mono on their 'birthday', but am filed with awe at the display that I have just been privy to. They move on to storm the world once more, touring relentlessly. And it wont be that long before they are back, Im sure - that is, if you can wait that long. Im not sure that I - or anyone who witnessed them tonight - can.

Heirs to the Dark Throne...

There is a reason I still have a MySpace account. One sole, solitary reason. And that is music. I follow bands, encourage them, listen to their new gear, meet like minded people. Actually, you can pretty much scratch that last part - other than occasional emails to bands about tours/albums/dress sense, I am incommunicado. Now this means that you have bands trying to become your friend that are utterly shit - hence the deliciousness of the deny button. But then there are the bands that like what you are into, and throw you a line, asking for you to listen to their music and see what you think...

And they are fucking good.

Netherlands's We Vs Death was one such band (for another day...), and today it is Heirs. A 5 piece from my homeland, these Melbourne, Australia residents (from a cluster of underground acts such as Whitehorse, Love...Like Electrocution, and Damn Arms) are a doom-laden post-rock affair that attempt to infuse elements of Red Sparowes, Mogwai, Mono, Swans and Whitehorse into a smelted black mess of dark and destructive...beauty? Sure, they can be destructive, but elements of their debut LP Alchera, such as The White Swell, does exactly that - swells up into a maelstrom of wall-of-sound elegance. However, it is the brute force stuff they are best at. You can download the album for free here - in the meantime, get a taste below. They are touring the UK in October, so we will keep you posted.

Heirs - Mandril

The Glove Fits #2 - Mogwai

It was only a matter of time before I devoted some time to these guys. I fucking love them. I traveled to Luxembourg just to see them. I would have seen them at Field Day but I had a wedding - how rude! I love everything about them.

Mogwai are genius, gods of their realm, blah blah fuckitty blah.

But there was no natural progression to my discovery of them. I wasnt into post rock and was ushered into their world via association. Hence Mogwai being in my Glove Fits column. I will put Mogwai into all my themed columns - Ill shoehorn them in if necessary! - but this one is a natural 'glove fit'.

Last week was about the Warlocks, and although I didnt mention it, it was through them that I began to embrace bands such as Black Angels and Dead Meadow. Mogwai opened up the sonic landscapes of instrumental rock bands, and have led me to (directly) Sigur Ros, Red Sparowes, Mono, and (indirectly) Explosions in the Sky (another of my all time fave bands).

But back to Mogwai. Again, like my 'discovery' of the Warlocks, I was in Rockinghorse Records in Brisbane. Again, just twiddling my thumbs, whiling away the time whilst I waited for my bus to arrive. This time they were having a massive sale, as they were leaving their smaller (and, in my opinion, much better) venue for a big store around teh corner. Many sales were to be made, and I was scouring the CDs and posters, trying vainly to look with disinterest but knowing fully that I would leave with an armful of goodies that I could barely afford - but thats what 2 minute noodles are for, right?

So Id picked up a Spain and a Morphine album, then my fingers brushed over a white CD cover. The sticker said $AUD2. The CD - a 1 song EP as it turned out - was all white, with one black and orange word emblazoned in capitals across its middle.

MOGWAI.

It drew me in, and I added it to my growing pile of purchases. The only reason I can fathom for me grabbing it is that Gremlins is one of my all time favourite movies (and still is - watched it at Christmas - Joe Dante is brilliance personified - have you ever seen The Burbs? Oh My God - but thats another story...) So how can a band that names itself after the furry creature be anything but awesome?

How right my instinct was.

When I got home, I went straight for the one CD that I knew nothing about, and put into the CD player. You know how I said that I shat myself when I heard Warlocks' Rise and Fall? Times that by about one million, and that is what happened next. For 21 minutes I was transfixed. And when the epic finished, I played it again. And again.

My housemate Sean came home. I made him sit down and I played Mogwai again. And another follower was born.

In fact every person I introduced to this, they fell under its thrall just as heavy as I did.

Since then, I have seen Mogwai quite a few times, and their gig back in 2006 at the Zoo in Brisbane is still my favourite gig ever. I am a rabid fan. And I hope that after listening to this song, you will be too. So here it is...

Mogwai - My Father My King