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.

Record Of The Week

The End Of The Ocean – In Excelsis

Columbus, Ohio based The End Of The Ocean release their follow up to the excellent Pacific Atlantic, the name of this latest release is called In Excelsis, which is Latin for ‘in the highest degree’. The music on this release is in the highest degree, great songs, great sound, great production. 5 well crafted post-rock songs coming in at just under 26 minutes in length. Future Recordings continue with the innovative treatment for this release with a CD  release that also has a lathe cut vinyl track on it. There is also a standard CD, 12″ vinyl and also the now standard digital release. Ok but what about the music, well songs range in length from a very short two minutes to a mid length 7 minutes. The two tracks that I played on the show were the opening two tracks on the album, On Floating and Star-Crossed. Both these tracks are real powerful songs, with nice quiet moments and very nice loud passages as well. They keep the music interesting with twist and turns, changes in tempo, rhythm and they keep the music on track, it always seems to be going somewhere. Track three seems to me to be an interlude as it has mostly quiet moments, this is just to lull you into thinking that all the loud bits are over, well the last two tracks on the album come at you with all guns blazing with a sound that is definitely The End Of The Ocean. I wondered how the follow up to Pacific Atlantic would sound and would they be able to stay at that level. Well I believe that they have done an amazing job on this release and it will definitely be in my top half of top 10 releases of 2012.

So thank you to Kevin, Trish, Bryan, Tara and Wes for an amazing release, the only one regret I have is that I didn’t get to see them playing live for this album release tour. They had a gig in San Antonio, but it clashed with a special edition of Fade To Yellow that I had to do. Next time for sure, maybe SxSW in 2013 is a reality.

Band Members

Kevin Shannon – Guitar
Trish Chisholm – Guitar
Bryan Yost – Bass
Tara Yost – Keys
Wes Jackson – Drums

Biography

The End Of The Ocean is an instrumental post-rock band based out of Columbus Ohio.

Engulfing listeners in waves of eerie nostalgia and sorrow, the ambiance of The End Of The Ocean becomes a self-voyage of life’s ebb and flow unfailingly finding a beacon of hope at the horizon.

Record Of The Week

Au Revoir – In The Key Of Night

New Jersey based Au Revoir have just released their debut full length release, In The Key Of Night, on Never Lost Records. There is 58 minutes of ‘post-rock’ music spread across 11 tracks on this release and they have done a fine job with their sound. 7 songs of mainly dark and moody tones but not so dark that it is overbearing or boring. I like the quiet music interludes that then build into something a bit more less quiet but again in never gets unbearably loud. They have thought this whole quiet/loud thing through and resisted going totally loud and bring it back to quiet just when you think it is going to explode. Even on the long songs they keep their composure and resist the big wall of sound. i picked up some vocalizations on the closing track of the album and that track certainly seems to be the heaviest of the lot. Some great repetition on the closing few minutes of the album.

To summarize, i think Au Revoir have done a really good job with this debut release and I am sure it is one that they are proud of. Fade To Yellow was only too happy to have this release as its record of the week.

Go check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

From the bands Record Label 

Au Revoir is an Instrumental/ Indie-Rock band based out of Northern New Jersey, with the current line-up as Eric Annicchiarico on Guitar, Dayn Viglione on Guitar, Corey Davis on Bass and Matt Carpenter on Drums. The band started as just a side-project for Eric and Dayn, with the idea to write some tunes that were both emotional and very dark in nature. Eventually, Au Revoir was being taken a little more seriously as an entire full-length album was produced and small tours began to take place. “We all have one common denominator and that’s a love for emotional instrumental music. Our goal is to write songs that pull and tear at every emotion possible and with this album, we feel that we have definitely hit our mark.” Au Revoir is getting ready to release their debut full-length “In The Key Of Night” on Never Lost Records, with plans to continue touring over summer 2012.

Band Members

Eric Annicchiarico – Guitar
Dayn Viglione – Guitar
Corey Reilly-Davis – Bass
Matthew Carpenter – Drums

Record Of The Week

Elisa Luu – Un Giorno Sospeso

Elisa Luu is an Italian composer based in Rome. This is the second release from Elisa Luu, the first album ‘Chromatic Sigh’, like this one has been released by the excellent Australian record label Hidden Shoal records. This release is called ‘Un Giorno Sospeso’ which translated into English means ‘One Day Suspension’

‘Un Giorno Sospeso’ consists of 8 tracks coming in just shy of 48 minutes. This is 48 minutes of excellent electronic/ambient music, this music has a wonderful textures to it. The first track Flussigirl is almost dreamy and floats along on a bed of tranquil sounds. I played the second track Se fosse per me on my show a few weeks ago and this is track that slowly build into a multi melody sound, with electronic sounds all over and a nice beat to accompany it. There are also skittish horns on this track, which is unexpected, but it works fantastically well, the song comes back down after the horns. The other 6 tracks, which I am not going to describe, but I will say that I featured both Tok and Qui on the show to highlight the music that Elissa wrote. All the music on this release is good, a real nice mix of sounds, I particularly like some of the experimental sounds that appear from time to time.

If I was to offer any advice, it would be to rush out and get a hold of this album. You won’t be disappointed.

From the Elisa Luu website

Elisa Luu (Elisabetta Luciani) is a Rome based composer. She begins her music career as a saxophone player, moving freely from fusion to jazz. Elisa Luu has been involved in many music projects over the years, including fusion quartet Prodotti Speciali and Short’s Monday Night Jazz Orchestra. She participated to Berklee Jazz clinics where she got a special mention as alto sax player. In 2007 she moved forward and started to compose ambient/electronic music. She is also the co-founder of La Bèl, an Italian netlabel offering free electroacoustic music, including her own EP ‘The time of waiting’. In 2009 she released her debut album ‘Chromatic Sigh’ with Hidden Shoal Recordings. Now her new single ‘ Se fosse per me’ is out – taken from her forthcoming long-awaited second album with the same Australian-based independent music label, which is going to be released in June.

From the Hidden Shoals website

Un Giorno Sospeso is the new album by Italian ambient electronica artist Elisa Luu.

As evidenced on recently released single ‘Se Fosse Per Me’, Un Giorno Sospeso is dense with chiming tones, buoyant beats, skittering horns and immersive drones. From the shimmering, levitating tones of ‘Flussigirl’ to the rattling, dark drone-beat of ‘Il Tempo Di Capire’, Elisa Luu’s brilliant marriage of texture and composition is on virtuoso display.

Elisa Luu’s alchemical touch is in full bloom on this, her long-awaited second album for Hidden Shoal. Her uniquely crafted compositions carry a warmth and vulnerability that belies their digitally manipulated  textures. The album takes the glorious blueprint of debut Chromatic Sigh and accentuates the highlights and shadows, making for a deliciously disorientating trip.

Record Of The Week

Drops – Believe You Me

I first heard a Drops track, in fact it was You Have My Word, round about the middle of May. It was a chance post by Alex Steward (Umber) on Facebook about Drops that led me to listen to that track. That first song had me hooked, it was hard not to smile listening to this music. Anyway that was in May, this is now July and Drops aka Liam Hennessy, has released his EP titled ‘Believe You Me’ on the awesome Heat Death Records label.

This EP has 6 tracks. Well that is 4 main tracks and two remix’s of tracks. It clocks in at just over 20 minutes and what a fine 20 minutes it is too. The track ‘You Have My Word’ is obviously included and this has acoustic guitar, handclaps, bass guitar, soundscapes, vocalizations, field recordings, bells and it is all structured so beautifully and it is bright and has plenty of amazing melodies. As I said this is the track that introduced me to Drops and what an introduction. But what about the other three tracks, ‘Star Map’ starts off very dramatically and slowly then picks up, and again its all in an acoustic vein with flowing melody and soundscapes in the background. ‘Autumn Walks’ is a track that Liam tells in audio story form of his time walking around the Sheffield countryside in Autumn 2011. He even recorded the sound of rain against the trees outside his bedroom window to set the scene for this track and give the listener a feeling of actually being there with him on those walks. The last main track ‘Return Stones Into Sea’ follows a similar pattern to the preceding three tracks but with a twist, there are more vocals in this track and more quirky melodies and beats to keep you captivated. Then the the repetitive vocals ‘Return Stones Into Sea’ kicks in with great effect before the track ends all too soon. The last two tracks are remixes of two of the main tracks. And the remixers, Message To Bears and Clem Leek have done fabulous jobs on the tracks, You Have My Word and Autumn Walks.

There are no downsides on this release, well maybe one…..it is all too brief. With that said it would appear that Liam is moving to London sometime soon and he has intimated that he is going to record an EP there, and it will be different to this release due to the influences of the city. I for one would like the next release to be longer, but I have the feeling I may have to get the smile surgically removed from my face if that is the case.