Record Of The Week

El Valiente – White Comanche

White Comanche is El Valiente’s third release, folloing on from El Topo (2007) and Daceton (2009). This is their shortest album to date with 3 songs which is just under 30mins in length. It is also the first recording with new Bass player Kris Hansen. This album has El Valiente all over it, they have a sound that they seem to have captured all to themselves. The other two members of El Valiente, Eric Caldera (guitar) and Joe Bernstein (drums and glockenspiel) complete the trio. What i like about El Valiente is the complexity of the playing, whether its the guitar riffs or the drumer playing drums and glockenspiel at the same time. The first song on White Comanche is the title track and it starts off slow with guitar, bass then glock but it is not long before there is a change in tempo or complexity in the playing, it is a mixture of jazz and music from sounds like it could also be a part of a spaghetti western movie. They have this sound all to themselves and that is what sets this trio apart from other bands in the ‘post-rock’ ‘experimental’ music genres. The other two tracks Donnybrook and The Death Of J Mendez are equally full of twists and turns in tempo and melodies as the first track. On a first listen to this album you would tend to think that the music is all over the place, but on subsequent listens it all makes sense and there does seem to be cohesion in the structures of the songs.

I really like this album and that is why it is the Fade To Yellow record of the week this week. Go check it out!!

Record Of The Week

Digital Antique – II

Digital Antique are just about to release their second album. This band are the best of both worlds in that they are a four piece rock band and have a string quartet tagged on as well, or is it a string quartet with a four piece rock band tagged on. Whatever way it is, they make an awesome sound. The previous release was simply called Digital Antique while this release is called Digital Antique II. Believe me, all the effort was put into the music. 10 tracks that put simply are all really good in their own way. It comes in at just over 38 minutes in length, with the opener at 1:41 and the longest song at 5:51. So what does it sound like, well the first track ‘Doomed Hero’ starts off with a conversation talking about computer age kids and how they have a thousand friends online but none in real life. But the music starts off really rocking then the strings come in and take over. This is a clever song, I actually thought it was a mellotron in the song when I heard it at first then I realized it was actually the string quartet who were playing. All the songs have a really nice mixture of sounds, with the strings prominent one minute then the rock side of it takes over. I particularly like the interplay between the strings and guitar. The songs are lush in melodies and with a grand sound that is progressive, post-rock, cinematic and at times maybe post classical thrown in for good measure.  It is hard to pick a favourite song from this release but if I was forced to choose then I would pick ‘5 Marines’…no, maybe ‘Jonsii’, oh whatever. Check out the album and you will see what I mean. I also would like to give special mention to James Parker Randolph who created the artwork for this album, it truly is an amazing piece of work.

I wouldn’t waste anytime in heading over to their bandcamp site where you can stream the music and sit back, relax and enjoy this great release.

About the band (from their website)

Digital Antique summons a sophisticated palate marrying a melodramatic classical approach with progressive pacing. However, simply comparing it to prog rock or dubbing it rock opera would be a tad limiting. Those boundaries are broken through by and really, theres no other way of putting this their strangeness. Odd? Yes. Fascinating? Absolutely. Which is why theyre worth checking out. The band got its start in 2008 when its core members met at South Plains College, where they each studied music. Guitarist Travis Kennedy, drummer Payton Holekamp, and bassist James Parker Randolph have extensive musical backgrounds, experience, and a lot of inspiration from varied musical genres. Each has an obsessive ear for detail, which can be deadly, but in the best way possible. Theirs is a collaboration of precise strategies and unconventional melodies, logical processions with illogical signatures. Digital Antique has been described as an instrumental indie rock band with cinematically driven compositions. All true, but their music is also an immensely striking waltz with darkness, winding its way round a complex tapestry of textures and startling aural landscapes. There is something distinctly eerie that threads it all together.

Laurie Gallardo – KUT.ORG

Record Of The Week

The Sound Of Rescue – The Sound Of Rescue

The Sound Of Rescue from Maryland USA have just self released their latest self titled album. The album is just over 1 hour long with the time distributed across 13 tracks. This trio of brothers have released a more post rock sounding album for this release, it definitely has a slightly different sound to the previous more ambient sounding releases. I think this is all part of the band mixing it up a bit. They do a really fine job on this release, which they wrote, performed and mixed themselves. This album doesn’t really lose any of the ambient sounds, they have kept those sounds in to a degree but they have built on that sound with a nod to post rock. I think the sound will develop even more on the next release. It would seem that these guys are learning as they go along, and if they are making any mistakes then it doesn’t show in the music. I played the tracks ‘Warren Road’ and also ‘Forward’ on the show and these are really nice tracks, and really represent The Sound Of Rescue sound on this album.

My recommendation is to go get a hold of this album, you will not be disappointed.

From the band

Each song on The Sound Of Rescue was written with the idea of “duality” in mind. We love the fact that there are often two sides to every story, and that beauty and ugliness can often coexist without us ever recognizing it. In fact, sometimes the lines become so blurred that it’s hard to really describe anything as one or the other – in the words of John Cage, there’s often “no reason” to assume that anything on this Earth isn’t beautiful in its own way, even if we initially perceive it as something ugly. This path of thinking leads to a blissful state of tolerance and patience for things we may not find attractive at first glance (or listen).

Here is a link to the information on each track by the band Track By Track

Members 

Michael Tasselmyer – Guitar
Andrew Tasselmyer – Bass, Guitar, Synths, Drums
Stephen Tasselmyer – Drums

Record Of The Week

On Your Horizon – In, Empty

Turkish based band On Your Horizon have just released their 2nd EP and third release in total. They started off as just one person, Rammy Roo, but soon progressed to a full size band. The two releases previous to this were all Rammy’s own work. But this latest release has 4 members and for this release there is a marked difference in the music. I guess with an increase in band members comes an increase in musical ideas. So the name of the album is ‘In, Empty’ and was conceived, written and recorded in Turkey. There is just over 23 minutes of music across 5 tracks. All the tracks have a nice sound to them, from the 1.27min ‘Bir Ruya’  to the near 7min ‘Untitled #1’. This is post-rock, electronic and ambient all rolled into one and done with great creativity. The first track S.T.M.F is post rock with electronic beats and glitches in the background and is a great opening track, I played this track along with the the title track. The title track starts off with a rendition of an old song called ‘That Old Black Magic’ which fades away and the band pick up the tempo, with real nice melodies, guitar and cello both being to the fore. I particularly like the shortest track on the album, for no reason other than its a high pitched noise, with some scratchy sounds in the background,  and this shows that this band also have an edgy experimental side to them, also check out the track …’Thee In The Deluge Of Noah’ .Maybe that experimental side will be be featured more in their next release, of which I have been told will be a full length release in late 2012 early 2013.

So On Your Horizon are surely a band to be watching out for, and this latest release ensures that I will be eager to hear what they offer up next. Hurry up 2013……

Members

Ender Akgün
Tuğrul Gültepe
Rammy Roo
Gülşah Erol

Bio 

Bright guitars, magical timbre of cello and plenty of nostalgia…On Your Horizon is an astral projection band!
Having its roots in Eskişehir in 2009 as a one-man-project and reaching its final band form in March of 2010, the living space of OYH is the stages, directly. The music of the band offers a different approach covered with experimental elements on post-rock axis.
On Your Horizon, with its “Home” titled DIY album released in February of 2010, having reached to many listeners in and out of the borders free of charge, has recently entitled to 3rd rank award in 15th Roxy Music Days (Roxy Müzik Günleri).

Record Of The Week

Zvoov – Planned Obsolescence

Brooklyn NY based Zvoov have just release Planned Obsolescence, which is their first full length release. They have included three songs from their 2011 EP Everbrown on this release, but they have been reworked and sound much more polished than what was on the EP. So with 7 tracks in total on the full length that makes 4 brand new tracks. The album comes in at just over 50minutes in length. I think this band are learning as they go along, and it shows with this release. They have a math rock sound, but not totally restricted to that genre. They write great music, full of nice melodies and the music is full of twists and turns. The opener Poverty Of Stimulus sets the tone for this release, its interesting from the very first bar of music and this continues through song by song. I played both How Dare You Dare Me and Poverty Of Stimulus on the show, but I would have happily played any of the tracks.

So Zvoov have this weeks distinction of being the Fade To Yellow record of the week and it is well deserved with this release. Go check it out for yourself and support the great music from this band.

Bio

Zvoov is a three-piece instrumental rock band from Brooklyn, New York with:

• Eric Hielscher on guitar
• Arthur Meacham on bass
• John Swank on drums

You could call Zvoov math rock, but that would be missing the point. Yes, the instrumental power trio rocks angular riffs and impossible rhythms, but this is not some dispassionate exercise in odd-meter wankery. This is music with feeling, owing as much to Radiohead and Om as to Hella and Don Caballero. Zvoov’s sound veers effortlessly from glimmering, off-kilter melodicism to full-blown sludgy mayhem. The weird time signatures are certainly there, but often woven slyly into a song to create a sense of unease and disquiet within an otherwise accessible piece. Their debut Everbrown EP was self-released in February 2011.