RECORD OF THE WEEK  

http://sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com/

Review To Follow

LIVE IN STUDIO PERFORMANCE BY MY EMPTY PHANTOM

RECORD OF THE WEEK  

http://www.meniscusmusic.com/

Meniscus’s lush ambient soundscapes, driving bass lines and poly-rhythmic beats create a unique musical experience that has been hypnotising Australian audiences since 2005.

The Sydney trio’s unique brand of instrumental post rock blends the moody dynamics of acts like Mogwai and Sigur Rós with the prog rock technicality of King Crimson.

The critical success of the band’s 2007 EP ‘Absence of I’ elevated Meniscus’s profile globally with rave reviews from The Silent Ballet (“Beautifully crafted and impeccably conceived….very good doesn’t quite sum this up, it’s amazing”) and Sputnik Music (“Meniscus have a wizardly sense of dynamics, songs flowing with the purity of water….technically brilliant and tightly composed”).

Despite this success, the departure of drummer and co-founder Duncan Wilson forced Meniscus into hiatus in 2008. In early 2009, founding members Daniel Oreskovic (guitar) and Alison Kerjean (bass) made a comeback to the live circuit with new drummer Cameron Brennan, showcasing new songs and arrangements. All the hard work that the band put into the comeback has resulted in this latest release called War Of Currents.

RECORD OF THE WEEK  

http://bewareofsafety.bandcamp.com/

http://www.mylenesheath.com/

Walking a thin line between post-metal and post-rock, Los Angeles-based instrumental project Beware of Safety comes crashing into the scene with their sophomore full-length,Leaves / Scars. Having recently uncovered the fairly recent band, I enjoyed discovering their heavy, progressive style established in their releases, sounding something like a crude mash of God is an Astronaut and North. The thing that really defines Beware of Safety is their lack of trepidation to make some noise and to show off their raw power, but at the same time, add their superb musicality and throw on a healthy dose of contrast, mixing blasts with mellow acoustic bridges.

The first tune off the album, “Meridian”, is a fantastic example of the potential of the band. Starting off with a heavily reverbed, fairly long bass jam, the drums and some soft, melodic minor chords from clean guitars begin to create a more sombre tone, with the rhythm pounding a well-supported, heartfelt beat. As things begin to pick up, a distorted guitar riffs, lending strength as everything starts to feel less anemic and more concentrated. About three minutes in, a smooth transition from a very minor-keyed bridge flows into some syncopated and very fuzzy riffage. Drums hitting harder, guitars strumming more powerfully, everything comes to a smooth fadeout as everything drops out and the clean guitars pick up, until a wall of sound comes wailing in and a melancholic, distorted post-rock-esque catharsis hits listeners hard as the song’s ending rushes up and everything comes to an immediate standstill.

The fifth song on the album, “Moorpark Ends”, shows a softer side of the band, with a simple acoustic melody, with very smooth, tender synths adding a soft layer of depressive moans and wails in the background. The song takes on after This Will Destroy You, with soft clean guitars adding here and there, with most of the rhythm in the acoustic guitar, melodic changes lying in the acoustic and the synths. As things progress a bit, the synths grow louder and the guitars become more distorted as a fade-in to a more vigorous and forcible verse, adding in drums, with ethereal distorted guitars strumming away, in a very Explosions in the Sky-like fashion. The song keeps its crestfallen demeanor, as the bass hits some deep, earnest chord changes, tugging at the heartstrings of the listener. The song ends just as it began, with all of the noise and chaos clearing away into a simple introspective melody, fading gently away.

This album was a really cool listen, in discovering a post-rock / post-metal band that isn’t afraid to delve into either and both categories in the same song. Beware of Safety doesn’t really push themselves towards any genre – they create what sounds good to them, and it ultimately sounds good to everyone else too. Leaves / Scars took off in a way different direction than I thought it would at the beginning of it, but that’s not a bad thing in any way. With a lot of warmth and gentleness in some parts, and animosity and power in other parts, Leaves / Scars may stand out as a much more memorable album this year than something like Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, simply because it’s so much more diversified and easy to connect to.

Above review courtesy of http://www.muzikdizcovery.com/2011/07/beware-of-safety-leaves-scars.html

RECORD OF THE WEEK  

http://www.sonicreverie.co.uk/post/7207888883/asummer

The debut full length album by Good Weather For An Airstrike is here, following a handful of well received EPs over the last few years Tom Honey has expanded his sound to create something more substantial and arguably more bold than his previous outings. Going against the grain of ambient and drone conventions, GWFAA’s album compresses soundscapes into smaller time frames, speeding up the slow moving fluctuations into stirring ever evolving movements which aren’t frustratingly slow. The record swings with ease from louder more abrasive drone associated with artists like Tim Hecker to far more delicate kaleidoscopic swells akin to Stars of the Lid whilst always maintaining a character entirely of its own.