Getting The Night Terrors

I only came across Seattle's Helms Alee a fortnight ago, which is a god damned shame. The best band on Hydra Head Records (sorry Torche, you're just pipped here), they released an album back in 2008 called Night Terror. Its brilliant. Brilliant! I thought it was new - I wanted to put it on my top ten of the year - I now want to step back in time and hear it in its infancy, then spend 2 years listening to it... Its heavy, melodic, raw, yet well defined - its marriage of post-metal and shoegaze indie is engrossing, and astounding in how well its been executed here. The three piece (Ben Verellen, Dana James and Hozoji Margullis) trade melodic density, tremolo-stained guitar, churning bass and akimbo drumming with unauthorised efficiency, and the amazing guy/girl vocal interplay with their deft understanding of quiet and tense layered build ups adds further dimensions to each track. I love this album!!!!!!!!!!

Since then Helms Alee havent released much, although Verellen has introduced his own amplifiers that are amazingly crafted and used by the likes of Sleep, Young Widows and Against Me. However they have just completed a massive tour with the likes of the aforementioned Young Widows, along with Red Sparowes and Boris, and are finally reentering the studio with Night Terror producer Matt Bayles for an album ready for early 2011. In the downtime between then and now, get Night Terror. Its amazing.

Helms Alee - New Roll

Helms Alee - A Weirding Away

Review - Heirs, Fowl

After their dangerously impressive LP of last year Alchera sunk some minor populated islands in Australasia due to its brooding, then punishing sonic squalls, I wasn't expecting to hear from Heirs again so soon - well, not until they had done their penance in the Underworld. But being the chronic hard workers that they inevitably are, they have just carved out Fowl, out today in Australia in CD format. It is as bruisingly brilliant as you would expect if you've had the pleasure to have heard them before - Alchera would have made my top 10 list of last year if I had heard it then (I only came across this album in March). With this release, Heirs have thrust themselves into the heavy instrumental scene as the New Guard, to join the ranks of veterans such as Isis and Pelican.

I would be remiss if I didnt mention that Fowl, whilst incessantly brutal, is an achingly beautiful affair, a result of the core songwriting duties baton being passed from drummer Damian Coward to guitarist Brent Stegeman. Anyone who is a fan of this genre will recognize this - who the structures of these songs, when done correctly, caresses rather than just bludgeons. Whilst 'Dust' spends over half its 8 minutes slowly building tension before breaking into a storm of noise that is pinioned by the incessant monotonal drumming (which is a compliment by the way) - a la later Godflesh - tracks such as 'Mother' and 'Drain' provide a one-two punch of perfectly orchestrated maelstroms of emotive white noise, closing the album in an immense and - aptly - draining fashion. They have not played rote Isis material here - they have maintained the dark ferocity that this genre expects - nay, demands - and by opening themselves to its cousins, post rock and industrial rock, and a noticeably darker slant on electronic programming, they have provided themselves with a wider sound palette, certain nuances, sound structures and electronic preamble, than many of their contemporaries - Red Sparowes, Mogwai and Trent Reznor are touchstones here, particularly at the tail end of the record...

Released by Denovali Records (home to Her Name Is Calla, worriedaboutsatan, September Malevolence, and Kodiak) Fowl is a behemoth of a record, a pugilistic triumph of the senses. Every member of Heirs is in the right place - its precise, its meticulous, its haunting, its ear-shattering. And regardless of what story its telling - the perverse nature of feeding on filth for entertainment, to sate our hunger, to gratify our sexual appetite, to facilitate our survival - the end result is that at the end of this ride, you will be bruised, battered - and enlightened.

Fowl is out now in Australia in CD form. The UK has to wait a few weeks til October 15th to get it, unless like me you sent away for it - but its better to pre-order here, so you can get vinyl versions - and there are three different packs - yellow/white vinyl (150pcs), yellow/black vinyl (150pcs), and good ol black (300pcs). The rest of the world will have to wait until November, so we have first dibs. Also (and this is great news), Heirs are touring Europe in October, starting off in the Netherlands on the 6th. They make their way to England, where they play not one but TWO shows in London - plus some random outer capital drops - here are the dates/venues:

14/10 - Green Park Tavern, Bath
15/10 - The Unicorn, London
16/10 - Harry's Bar, Stoke-on-Trent
17/10 - The Criterion, Leceister
18/10 - Dublin Castle, Camden

These are mental venues to see an act of this magnitude (AKA small seedy metal venues). I, for one, cannae wait.

Heirs - Dust
Heirs - Burrow

Red Sparowes Provide the Fearful Answer

Having culled current and former members from the likes of Isis, Halifax Pier and Neurosis, Red Sparowes goes to great pains to distance itself from those popular merchants of doom. And for the most part, it’s right to disassociate itself from the propulsive assault—the post-rock band’s most dramatic moments arrive in undulating waves rather than crashing full bore on the listener’s head. The band takes a page from Explosions In The Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor's epic soundtracks and marries them to the sinister buzz of early Sonic Youth for a uniquely disquieting sound.

I came to these guys via viral association - whereby a search engine or site (think Amazon) gives you recommendations based on what you have viewed/bought (an article on this 'phenomenon' to follow soon...). This was one of the few they got right.

Red Sparowes are about to launch their 3rd LP, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer. Produced by Toshi Kasai (Tool, Melvins), who also engineered their Aphorisms EP of 2008 (released as a 12" in 2009), the album promises to be a progression on their pursuit of the perfect balance of darkness and light. Expect an album review in the upcoming weeks. While you wait (hopefully in anticipation), sample a track from it below.

Red Sparowes - In Every Mind

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

6 Degrees of Sonic Youth #5 - Imaad Wasif

Playing alongside J Mascis' Sweet Apple at the Tee Pee Records showcase @ SXSW is Imaad Wasif. Imaad is a singer-songwriter of many talents and connections; he was a part of Lou Barlow's New Folk Implosion; he toured with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for their Show Your Bones world tour; he is one of the Kids working with Karen O on the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack; his last album, The Voidist, included collaborations with Dale Crover of The Melvins (who have a tour coming up too), Chad Bamford (Weezer) and Greg Burns (Red Sparowes). The album is pretty damn good - check it out.

Imaad Wasif - Priestess

Imaad Wasif - Fangs from Adam Harding on Vimeo.

'Everyone High-Fiving Everyone'

Fang Island describe their music as 'everyone high-fiving everyone'.

What an amazing way to describe the sound that they have created on their self-titled debut LP (put out by the tres cool Sargent House Records), a kaleidoscopic explosion of colour and sound, predominantly instrumental, occasional choral calls and hand claps notwithstanding. There are elements of a more laidback Lightning Bolt, a more streamlined Animal Collective, a less hairy '80s hair guitar band, a little Minibosses (except they aren't covering vintage Nintendo game soundtracks - they are creating their own) - hell, there's even some almost country and western guitar noodling near the end of the track Treeton! - but overall this album reeks of happy happy joy joy!

I was stunned when I gave this album its first listen - I had been expecting something more post-rock. Probably because I had been told that it was a post-rock album. This is something else altogether. The band manage to meld their musical talents into one huge collective of radiant positivity. With three guitarists weaving their magic, harmonising their twisted chords into a tapestry of uplifting 'high-fivery', the drummer and bassist struggling valiantly to keep the band centred before they float into the air and towards the sun, Fang Island never fails to impress. Every song punches you in the chest, a surefire arrow of good times sure to cheer you up at every opportunity. Its the feel good hit of...well, every season henceforth. The soundtrack to a heady fun-filled summer? The choice to help wipe away the melancholia brought forth by the shitness that epitomises the winter? Music to mark the moments as the shoots break through the earth and the sun starts to stir, the first signs of spring? A warm remembrance of good times past as the green turns amber and the leaves start to fall? Yep - its all right here. And its unrelentless in its catchiness.

Technically brilliant, relentlessly upbeat, Fang Island has in one day become my current frontrunner for best album of 2010. Get it, listen to it, make love to it, have a million of its babies. Then have them high-five each other - the most simple joyous gesture of them all.

Fang Island will be touring the US extensively later in the year with the likes of Red Sparowes and the Chinese Stars, and Andrew W.K. (?) joining them on stage on occasion, these guys will be huge. You heard it here. Have a taste of their single, Daisy, and another track, Life Coach.

Fang Island - Daisy
Fang Island - Life Coach