Found 25 relevant deviations
Sun May 19, 2013, 10:18 AM
This week...
The Foundation, The Machine, The Ascension - 2009
The Murder Of Tom Fitzgerril - 2006
Nostalgia For The Future - 2004
Origin Point:
United States
Sounds Like:
Space Rock, Shoegaze, Alternative, Post Rock, Progressive
Constants push the boundaries of musical genres with this selection of works, blending a noise that's situated between the lush guitar soundscapes and distant vocal renditions of shoegaze, and the crushing walls of noise associated with space rock. While they have released two albums beyond this selection in recent years, neither are close to matching this trio in terms of ambition and intensity, inherently present in The Foundation, The Machine, The Ascension, a three-disc conceptual epic. However, for me, the Murder Of Tom Fitzgerril release is what I would most strongly recommend; it's a fine marriage of sounds.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun May 12, 2013, 12:55 AM
This week...
Whale Fall - 2011
Origin Point:
United States
Sounds Like:
Post Rock, Ambient, Experimental
Post-rock is a genre of music which has expanded exponentially since the early 2000s, and there is a lot of dross to be found between the buried gems. This sole release by the NY-based Whale Fall is definitely a diamond in the rough, following enough of the post-rock signatures to appease any fans of the scene while also being interesting enough to have a wider appeal. A prime example of this is the track Kodiak, a striking number whose early solid-if-unremarkable early notes give way to an inspirational brass-led crescendo. This is a pattern that repeats throughout the album; solid musicianship with moments of genius, a fine accomplishment for a début effort.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
This week...
They Came From The Sun - 2007
Ignoto - 2005
Origin Point:
United Kingdom
Sounds Like:
Indie Rock, Alternative, Math Rock, Post Hardcore
A change of direction this week with the featuring of a sadly short-lived local band, hailing from the former pit-towns of north-east England. YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO was an energetic rock collective whose infectious, melody-laden sound on their début release should've seen them garner wider attention at a time when inferior acts with a similar sound were making waves in the UK indie music scene. Alas, it wasn't to be, and we are left with just two full releases. Both are inconsistent, but both are memorable and both sounded singularly fantastic as a live performance.
Recommended tracks are:
I Am Connecting Flight,
Titan Grip,
Rapt.Dept,
Empty Feat and
The General from their first release, and
Pacific Theatre,
Sixfive,
Evening,
To The Cars, and
Screaming Ground from their second.
To The Cars in particular is a genre-defying tour de force, bearing more resemblance to titanic post-metal than it does their indie-rock peers. It pushes through into the rhythmic pounding of
Screaming Ground, before finally coming to rest with the introspective post-rock closer
Dicta Boelcke: a triad of compositions fitting of any swansong.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Apr 28, 2013, 5:08 AM
This week...
A Thin Shell - 2010
Grey Dawn - 1999
Rain Without End - 1997
Origin Point:
Sweden
Sounds Like:
Death/Doom Metal, Progressive
With little-to-no media attention, the October Tide project garnered an almost cult-like reputation in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a Katatonia side-project, their sound continued in the trend of Brave Murder Day; slow, hypnotic, melancholic metal with tortured vocals and long instrumental passages. After going through a ten-year hiatus, the band was revived in 2010 with a slightly less maudlin and more aggressive aesthetic, and they continue to grind out their own brand of death/doom metal that practically spawned an entire sub-genre.
Highlights include Blue Gallery and Infinite Submission from their first release, Sweetness Dies and Into Deep Sleep from their second, and Fragile and Scorned from their third. For those who don't enjoy the growled vocal style, I recommend the acoustic closer Dear Sun from Grey Dawn and the full instrumental track A Nighttime Project from A Thin Shell.
In March of this year they put out another album, called
Tunnel Of No Light, but upon first listen it is inferior to their prior material. For the infinitely curious, a stream of this release can be found
here.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Apr 21, 2013, 1:29 PM
This week...
Providence - 2009
Noir - 2006
True Nature Unfolds - 2004
Origin Point:
Finland
Sounds Like:
Post Metal, Sludge Metal, Post Rock, Progressive, Experimental
Callisto, like many in their genre, arose from the ashes of various post-hardcore bands in the early 2000s. In each of their three releases, their sound has evolved: starting with a majestic, doom-laden post-metal sound in True Nature Unfolds, moving on to the appropriately-titled Noir with a dark, urban aesthetic with heavy use of horn and brass instruments, culminating with the - again, appropriately-titled - Providence, which is primarily composed of clean vocal passages.
A recommendation for those who enjoy the likes of ISIS, Cult Of Luna, Mouth Of The Architect, Kokomo, and Rosetta.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Apr 14, 2013, 3:06 PM
This week...
The Pottsville Conglomerate - 2011Origin Point:
United States
Sounds Like:
Singer-Songwriter, Avant-Garde, Folk, Indie Rock, Progressive, Alternative, Experimental
I thought I would select something a little from left-field for my 20th edition of the Sunday Soundcheck, and this certainly fits the bill.
Pete Davis is an obscure American songwriter who has been consistently writing and producing his own music since before he left high school. While his early material is mostly unassuming acoustic folk, things take a turn for the orchestral macabre in
The Pottsville Conglomerate: an album that is 95 minutes long and was five years in the making. Showcasing a pinwheeling vocal style and a dizzying array of instruments layered throughout, the album assaults the senses from beginning to end with a dark, carnival-esque folk-based nightmare surrealist vision. It's a slow-burner that grows in stature towards the end of the running order, so be sure to listen through the entire release if it piques your interest to start with.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
This week...
Other Arms - 2009
New General Catalogue - 2005Origin Point:
United Kingdom
Sounds Like:
Post Rock, Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Progressive, Alternative
This week's edition of the Sunday Soundcheck looks at the tragically short-lived Redjetson, an English band who were one of the first to fully experiment with post-rock aesthetics and indie rock sensibilities. Their sound lies somewhere between jagged melancholy of the sort that bands like Interpol and Editors became famous for, and slow brooding instrumental passages. Their first album, New General Catalogue, is a masterful listen. The second was released after their 2008 split, and carries a lighter and more radio-friendly sound.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Mar 31, 2013, 3:39 PM
This week...
Empros - 2011
Geneva - 2009
Station - 2008
Enter - 2006Origin Point:
United States
Sounds Like:
Post Metal, Progressive, Instrumental, Post Rock, Experimental
Russian Circles is one of a number of American post-rock bands that broke through at the same sort of time in the early 2000s. Like their contemporaries Caspian and This Will Destroy you, Russian Circles has since become one of the seminal acts in the genre, with an equally impressive discography. Each release contains something a little different, with the often-visceral Station and Geneva being my two favourites from their collection.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Mar 24, 2013, 4:24 AM
This week...
Ariettes Oubliées... - 2012
Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées - 2010Origin Point:
France
Sounds Like:
Shoegaze, Post Rock, Post Metal, Melancholic Rock, Metalgaze
Emerging from the same blackgaze circles as Alcest and Amesoeurs, Les Discrets is a musical project that is similarly difficult to categorise. Their sound ranges from lush, acoustic folk passages through to brittle black metal riffs and post-metal wall-of-sound crescendo, all the while suffused with a haunting vocal style winding somewhere in the mix.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
Sun Mar 17, 2013, 1:48 AM
This week...
Tunnel Blanket - 2011
Moving On The Edges Of Things - 2010
This Will Destroy You - 2008
Young Mountain - 2006Origin Point:
United States
Sounds Like:
Post Rock, Instrumental, Shoegaze, Experimental, Drone Metal, Ambient
This Will Destroy You is a band that has polarised opinion in their relatively short existence. Beginning as an outstanding example of the by-the-numbers post-rock sound, their musical direction changed significantly with the release of their EP Moving on the Edges of Things in 2010. Rather than the lush, melodic sound that they had garnered a reputation for producing, this EP delved deep into drone and ambient territories. The following album explores this concept further, to the point where the band is no longer, to some, recognisable.
While the two sounds are markedly different upon first listen, the more challenging nature of their latter work makes it more rewarding when one is in the right frame of mind to listen through. The slow build-up and layering of Rituals from the aforementioned EP is a particular favourite of mine, and it shares certain aesthetic cues from their earlier work; loss, redemption, and a melancholy of sorts.
To listen to their music, simply click on the album covers to be taken to their respective pages.
Now, I know the discussion of music can be an emotionally charged subject for some people, but I'm not claiming that anything is better than anything else. This is no more than a soap-box for me to promote music that I enjoy; maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. That's fine.
If you've any recommendations based on this artist, or wish to promote some music that you yourself enjoy, please do so in the comments. Maybe I'll end up enjoying something enough to feature it myself.
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