Album Review: Ranges – Sin

There is the music you can hear—
And the world built beneath it.

How good are riffs?

Seriously though – how good are they? All kinds. Big, filthy riffs. Shimmering, melancholy riffs. Sludgy, stank face riffs. Riffs that transport you to childhood memories unexpectedly. Riffs that if you’re driving result in your foot pressing harder on the accelerator without realising. Safe to say, I am all too happy to worship at the altar of riffs.

And luckily, Ranges new release Sin is a very fitting addition to the altar.

I must confess, I actually didn’t know much about them heading into this review. After a brief crash course I can say that I was missing out – they’re great… And with some of the most creative, bespoke, wonderful merch and universe building I’ve seen. This is a group of people who deeply love and respect the music and art that they create, and deeply enjoy sharing it with the world. How goddamn amazing.

And so onto their new release: Sin. Seven tracks, seven deadly sins. Full disclosure, I’m not 100% certain which track corresponds to which sin, so I’ve done some internet sleuthing as best I can to align them.

“The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer” – Wrath
Opening the album we have a track titled with a line from the William Butler Yeats poem “The Second Coming”. A poem influenced by the trauma and unimaginable horror of the first world war, descending into chaos and sheer terror. Ethereal pads and light, airy effects kick us off before some softly booming tom work guides us into the first instance of chiming guitar riffs. The guitars sway and pierce while the bass slowly rumbles. Suddenly we’re into wrath – piercing, venomous guitar lines erupt from the speakers and swirl around your head.

Just as you’re getting used to it though we’re back into the first building motif again, but with more layered guitar lines to add to the overall wall of sound, reminding me of pg. lost in a way. Exploding proper into the final stanza with the second motif repeating again we get even more high end distorted guitars wailing and thrashing at you. I can absolutely picture this as the soundtrack to coffins opening and the wrathful dead rising – a la the 7” cover inspired by Dante’s Inferno.

‘Their Eyes Sewn Shut’ – Envy
What denotes envy to you? Is it a longing for a thing you can’t or shouldn’t have? If so, the opening of this screams out longing to me. It’s melancholy, slightly wistful and pushed forward by the military style drumming. Then a screaming guitar riff comes in and takes the top of your head off, exploding the track into glorious life. It’s spacious and huge, echoing around the sound stage as wailing lines build and soar. The military snare hits keep us going as the guitar screams, until it recedes into a soft, delicate bridge.

A few well timed clean chords to echo through the space occur before the main guitar melody line comes back in to remind us of the overall track, and hint at one final peak. It’s a study in delicate noise – melodic cacophony. And then, there’s no final noise. We end with the environmental sounds/effects that were all through the track, softly echoing and dying to leave us thinking about what makes us envious.

“Bound To The Black Wind” – Lust
I love this track. It has a delicate, shimmering swagger to it, fragile and vulnerable in the beginning as we ruminate on things lost or things never had. It’s got that ‘classic’ post rock sound that we all know so well – timeless guitars, spacious yet essential drumming, melodic rises and clear yet enveloping mix. Then when the heavy part of the track kicks in it’s immediately buzzsaw guitars soaring and fighting with each other, an evil minor melody cutting through absolutely everything on the track. That melody line could absolutely be the evil, lustful voice in your head. The counterpoint guitar line coming after it is the foil to that voice, cautioning restraint. A great track, and would absolutely hammer live I think.

“Three Throats” – Gluttony
This song certainly seems to be a tale of two parts. The first instance is quiet, delicate and mournful. Everything in its right place, slowly building and moving around one another in no hurry to arrive at the second section. And then the second section is violence.

It’s a simple riff, but oh boy it’s a corker of a riff. This is a nomination to the altar of riffs for sure. It’s a masterclass in ‘less is more’ as the band slowly cycle through the riff over and over, building more venom, anger, distortion and tension into it with each phrase. It encourages head banging, evil faces and gluttony. This is feeding yourself silly on a dirty, evil riff and I am here for it. Ranges don’t give you a choice here – they’re force feeding you this riff and you WILL like it. Awesome.

“Prodigal” – Avarice/Lust
We get a quiet start on this track, with subdued guitars, a thudding, gorgeous bass line humming underneath and simple, propulsive drumming. Slowly building, ebbing and flowing with the instrument lines weaving between each other until the inevitable peak explodes… And it explodes with glorious abandon. Cutting, buzzsaw guitars, bass that seems to be ripped straight from a chasm and signaling impending doom. It’s an aural assault and it is just wonderful.

Lust indeed. I for one am lusting over that guitar tone. It’s gorgeous. It reminds me of If These Trees Could Talk with that slight proggy edge to it, but this is a beast all its own. Then in the bridge we get some delightful strings to float us away briefly before the violence returns. And then we’re back, mired into those wonderful guitar lines with a new, soaring riff over the top threatening to take the top of your head off. And all too soon it’s over. I could listen to this as a 20 minute track easily. Killer.

“The Red Mist” – Anger
Straight out of the gate this track seems to fit exactly with the sin of Anger. An angry, speedy start to this song fires you back in your seat, guitars hitting you square in the chest over and over again, minor rising lines wailing at you until they collapse on themselves. And then – respite? Perhaps, but there is still that undercurrent of tension in the ‘quieter’ section as the anger of the first part still permeates. And while the softer section is great, it’s the urgency, anger and violence of this track that makes it for me. It’s a masterclass in ‘loud/quiet/loud’ songwriting, and one of those tracks that you swear is either 2 minutes or 10 minutes long. When the second, final loud section kicks in it’s all fist pumping and head swaying. If that’s a musical representation of anger – sign me up for an album of it.

“Idle Hands” – Sloth
If I had to describe this song in one word, it would be ‘wistful’. If it is the track for Sloth, then perhaps the sloth is the languid guitar line at the start? There’s a certain sadness to this track that makes me think I got my Sin allocations wrong. It’s slow to start, each instrument coming in to add to the overall wall of sound, chord by chord, riff by riff. And you know it’s coming – the peak. Just because you know it’s coming doesn’t lessen the impact though when it’s done this well. It’s loud, melodic, screaming at you and a suitable vessel for you to scream into the void. Angry guitars yell at you one final time as the track just… dissolves into quiet. A fitting final track.

So, overall a great album. It’s not just the music, but the world they’ve created around it that makes it great. It’s so very clear the time, effort and meticulous crafting that went into this album. And there is a smorgasbord of riffs for you to sink your teeth into. This makes me need to go and listen to everything they have done previously, because I am clearly deficient in my Ranges allocation. Now, where on earth do I get an Æterno coin…

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

Ranges are part of A Thousand Arms records, a post-rock label and screen printing company that creates incredible bespoke merch. They have teamed up with dunk!records in Belgium to press some incredible looking records.

The theme of this album is the seven deadly sins. The album will be released on 7/7. There are seven different variants of the record (limited to 150 copies each), each named after the respective sins.

There are seven limited edition boxsets that contains all variants (already sold out). And for the ultra fans, we have the deluxe boxset (limited to 77 copies, also sold out), which features seven 7″ records, one for each song on the album, with vinyl-exclusive songs on the b-sides. The US Deluxe Edition also includes a suite of seven themed ephemera that align with sins and vices, including playing cards, dice, a cigar, and a poster and merch that have been screen printed in the typical A Thousand Arms attention to detail.

Ranges are about to embark on an American tour with their friends in Man Mountain, playing Midwest and East Coast parts of the country, before finishing at Post Festival in Indianapolis.

Tour dates/ ticketing: https://www.rangesmusic.com/tour

Order Sin:

Bandcamp: https://ranges.bandcamp.com/album/sin
A Thousand Arms store (USA): https://www.athousandarmsstore.com/collections/pre-order-sin-by-ranges
dunk!records (EU) : https://dunkrecords.com/collections/ranges
Wild Thing Music (Au): https://wildthingmusic.com/collections/ranges

Ranges links:

Website: https://www.rangesmusic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rangesmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rangesmusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJg41ELchEChCEtIRKz4NA

Patreon (The Ranges podcast, exclusive merch, early access to releases): https://www.patreon.com/rangesmusic

The Cultus (The world of Ranges lore. Exclusive marketplace, limited edition releases, unpacking the deep mystique and concepts of Ranges’ music) : https://linktr.ee/thecultus

Reviewed by Nick Dodds

Photos by Joseph James

Album Review: We Lost The Sea – A Single Flower

So, we finally have a new We Lost The Sea album brought forth into the wild. It’s been a long wait, and a lot has happened in the world since the heady days of October 2019. Global pandemics, wars, riots, political upheavals and much, much more. And Triumph & Disaster seemed to be a very apt soundtrack for it all. I don’t know about you, but The Last Sun & Mother’s Hymn were on high rotation in our house during those black pandemic days, seemingly reflecting the helplessness, distrust and bleak acceptance of the world around us.

And now we have A Single Flower to carry us on for the next period of time. I can tell you immediately that I’m exceedingly thankful for that. What good is global unrest and uncertainty without a smashing soundtrack?

We Lost The Sea have never shied away from heavy themes in their music – in fact, they revel in it. Crimea on the brutality of war, The Quietest Place On Earth on soul crushing emotions, Departure Songs embracing glorious failure and Triumph & Disaster a final day on Earth between a mother and son. Safe to say, heavy themes abound. A Single Flower slots into this seamlessly right from the off, with its full title: ‘A Single Flower or The Black Bird Glowed Bright White as it Fell and Became a Trail of Light’.

Sunshine and rainbows this is most firmly not. But therein lies the power: you cannot have light without darkness. And by drawing from the darkness, the light when it visits becomes even more powerful… And We Lost The Sea are masters at manipulating the darkness, encapsulating it as a vehicle to drag you into the light.

The album opens with ‘If They Had Hearts’ – a single, jagged, forlorn guitar riff echoing sadly. It’s channeling middle eastern or latin sensibilities, in no hurry to expand or contract while the band slowly come in around it. Muted drums slowly expand in the background, increasing in volume and venom as piano, bass and the heavenly triple guitar attack swell and ebb. At around 3 and a bit minutes we get into the track ‘proper’, percussive elements continuing the inexorable pace as the band move as a single unit towards the peak. And then at 5 and a half minutes we get the pay off, the track exploding into menace, sadness and power – yet without changing the underlying riff or tempo at all.

It’s a masterclass in building, layering and minimalism as a sonic assault. Elements of Swans no-wave certainly seem apt here. And then suddenly the track has collapsed upon itself, leaving us with gentle, swirling guitars, delicate piano and a sense of space with a touch of longing. I can only imagine this live.

Then we head straight into ‘A Dance With Death’, potentially the most recognisable We Lost The Sea song on the album – in every wonderful way possible. Earthquake bass kicks us off, melodic, chugging and setting a scene. Guitar lines that are almost ‘proggy’ weave in and out, piano lines soar and the drums. Oh my heart, the drums. First time I heard this track I excitedly messaged a friend on how good the drums on this track are – and after 50+ listens I’m now even more certain. The snare hits at about 2.30 in absolutely hit my soul, and the guitar lines building pressure, intensity and anger just make me want to scream into the void.

And then just like that it’s all panned, mixed and echoed out into a single guitar riff that to me is absolutely a call back to Departure Songs (might be miles off, but I swear it is). Then it’s brushes on the kit, delicate piano and melancholy as far as the eye can see… Until a buzzsaw guitar starts building. Snappy high hat work. A partner guitar to increase the tension and sonics. Bass to massage your intestines, and the song keeps going, until the inevitable explosion. And it is glorious. When everything comes in you are left with no doubt that this is a band operating at the peak of their powers. And then, then, then – a filthy, majestic and just flat out disgustingly good riff to finish it all off. Absolute class. I cannot get enough of this song, and a dance with death it most certainly is. If you survive or not, uncertain.

Next up is ‘Everything Here Is Black And Blinding’. If I had to sum up this track with just one word it would be: oppressive. This is a dank basement, mould on the walls and a single dust covered window allowing just a single shaft of light to penetrate the space. It’s another angular, off kilter guitar riff to start things, with a drum beat that to my ears brings me memories of early 2000’s electronic dance music (because old). There’s layered guitars that are more static and emotional than notes, while the main guitar line weaves through it all. There’s noise here. Counter beats. It’s dense. It’s a wailing, angry beast lurching through the darkness.

Then the inevitable peak as everything comes to a head, those static/noise guitar lines expanding and growing, bass nailing you to the floor, filthy, dust covered keyboard riffs (Fender Rhodes?) taking over everything as the whole track collapses in on itself and dies. I wasn’t sure about this track when I first heard it, but it’s superb. It’s different, exciting and oh so engaging. At ‘only’ 8 minutes there is a lot to unpack here, and even more to revisit again and again. And I’m just starting to scratch the surface of it.

Moving into the second ‘half’ of the album we have ‘Bloom (Murmurations Of First Light)’. A wistful, melancholic solo guitar line kicks it off before we almost immediately head into a walloping wall of sound as the band pins our ears back. A riff of longing, reverb, echoes and distorted melody push us through the initial section, until that bass is all that remains with a dirty riff. And then we’re back to the first guitar line. I didn’t know what a ‘murmuration’ was (for those like me, it’s a term to describe those wonderful soaring, swirling patterns that flocks of birds can make), but the middle part of this track is a murmuration encoded as a song to me. It’s beautiful. Swelling, orchestral and melodic. I can close my eyes and see the flock of birds above my head, swirling in time to the bass and piano, kicking left and right, up and down in time to the drums.

And while these birds are putting on a show the guitars are chiming, weaving in and out for a dance all their own as well. If the previous track was oppressive, this is light. It’s fragile, delicate light that can corrode and die at any moment, but light nevertheless. And so we build, the band allowing us more shafts of light and swooping lines, chugging guitar steaming ahead until a guitar solo like a laser from space pierces the sonic assault. It’s been a while since a solo like that has been on a WLTS album and it’s another excellent example of the tonal changes and musical switches on this album. And then we’re done. The birds have finished their dance and the guitar from the beginning is echoing around our heads again, bass and swelling cymbals reminding us of the journey we just had.

And then – ‘The Gloaming’.

I wasn’t ready for this track. To come where it does on the album, and after all the changes, variety and complexity before it it floored me. I had a good cry hearing this. It is the very definition of fragile beauty. Soaring strings, piano and more melancholy then I was ready for on first listen. It. Is. Gorgeous. It’s also the shortest track at around 3 minutes, but what a wonderful 3 minutes. It’s potentially the most ‘simple’ track on the album (and it is not simple) but holy shit it’s just great. It’s beyond emotive and hit me right in the feels. I can’t really say much more about this than it’s just beautiful and I thank them for sharing this with us. If only I could hear this live.

“Does the earth hold our guilt or our own hearts?”

And finally we come to… ‘Blood Will Have Blood’. Mark Owen himself described it to me as ‘a behemoth’ and he is most certainly not wrong, but I’d also throw in a few extra terms like ‘gargantuan’, ‘odyssey’ and ‘immense’. To start with, it’s 27 minutes long. We’ve had what a lot of bands would consider an album prior to this track… and yet here we are. Epic is an understatement. Wistful guitars start chiming to kick it off, warm bass hugging you and consoling you until mallet drums and lonely piano remind you where you are. You’re in their world now, and best buckle up. This exudes space and slow build up, layers coming in slowly as the emotive pressure ratchets up a single degree at a time. Minor riffs swirling and growing, growling in the darkness as a single fist rages against the dark.

The drums propel us forward, waves of guitar building and shimmering. And then the snare rushes begin and the band… Hit us with a glorious major key riff. Exploding out of the darkness it’s sunshine, lightness and hope. It’s rocking, majestic and unexpectedly happy – until you look at the runtime and realise we’re less than halfway through. Challenger Part II this is not. And almost like trying to hold onto a dream when you wake the sunshine dissipates in a wave of thick riffs and we descend back into the inky blackness.

But perhaps all is not quite lost yet. Yes, the guitar lines are mournful. Swelling, cajoling and brittle but as the distortion hums around the pure notes there is still a background warmth. But that soon disappears as we’re left with cold indifference. A military snare beat starts pushing us forwards as the guitars growl quietly, the piano offering slight respite. The bass pulses like a heartbeat in your throat, noise and atmospherics only adding to the overall feel. It’s building, but to an unknown place. If a slow building peak could be constrained violence, this is it. It’s unforgiving, pummeling and full of rage. And then – jagged guitars ramp up the violence. Anger at the world, anger at the heart, anger at the cold indifference of the human condition. It’s vitriol, helplessness and silent rage as music. It’s also the culmination of the journey of this album.

And so it continues building, riffs exploding left and right, buzzsaw guitars fighting each other for supremacy and glorious noise everywhere. It’s almost funeral with it’s tempo, yet somehow feels far faster. And just when you think the violence, darkness and futility will win, we’re done. The darkness has been pushed back. Perhaps just for a moment, perhaps for good. But embrace the beauty of the end. A return to delicate moments, beauty and positivity. And with that, it’s over. And what a ride.

When I reviewed Departure Songs I said something like ‘if you want to show someone the power of music, play them this album’. A Single Flower is if you want to show someone the emotive, physical power that music can have. It’s beautiful, bleak, angry, dark, happy, wistful and so much more. It’s dense, layered and not what I was expecting, and I love it all the more for it. It’s a journey in all the best ways possible. And to continue with the single flower analogy, peeling back each petal of this album is an immensely rewarding journey.

Kudos. A massive release.

A Single Flower releases July 4, 2025.

We Lost The Sea are touring North America with Hubris. in July, and their home country of Australia with Follow in October/November.

We Lost The Sea links:

https://www.welostthesea.com/

https://welostthesea.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/welostthesea

https://www.facebook.com/welostthesea

https://x.com/welostthesea

Guest post by Nick Dodds

Album Review: sleepmakeswaves – It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It

sleepmakeswaves are the following:

Fun
Energetic
Excellent riffs
One of my favourite post-rock bands
Absolutely awesome
Hot, cool and sexy

I’ve seen sleepmakeswaves play twice. The first time was at San Fran, a local venue here in Wellington. They were opening for This Will Destroy You, and were incredible and definitely made TWDY look lame by comparison. The next time was in Melbourne, at Monolith Festival. Monolith was an awesome day featuring a unbelievably stacked lineup of Australian post and prog bands, and sleepmakeswaves played a stand out set that made me feel so giddy and happy that I think they should look at somehow packaging their music in pill form to be used as antidepressants.

I will be seeing them play in Belgium at dunk!festival this coming May as well and they are the band I am most excited to see.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I reviewed their album Made of Breath Only back in 2017. I loved it, of course. Since then sleepmakeswaves have released an ambitious 3 EP trilogy, a live album, and a split 7″ with Cog [Another fantastic Australian band. They also played the aforementioned Monolith Festival, and I’ve written about one of their side projects – The Occupants]. And now they’re treating us to a new record: It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It.

What a beautifully meta title. It’s basically called Untitled, but in the spirit of ridiculous long run-on names that are somewhat common in the post-rock scene [other examples: maybeshewill, 65daysofstatic, worriedaboutsatan]. I see other glimpses into their sense of humour when watching their Metallica cover [shaving a chopper mo just for the video is definite commitment to the bit!] and their 8bit computer game promo video for this album, and I get the impression that these lads would be great to hang out with.

Let’s engage in an imagination exercise. Picture me pressing play on this record. I’m listening to an advanced digital download, but it’s cooler if you picture me placing the needle onto the groove of the record while it spins on the turntable. Probably a splattery green pressing, to match the album art. It doesn’t matter – this is an imagined scenario anyway.

Cue fuzzy droning, a cool metallic metronome, a wicked drum beat, and a big build up. My face lights up more and more with each addition. There’s a pause, and then a huge bombastic drum fill. Suddenly I’m jumping around the room, playing air-drums, with a big pulsing quarter notes on the crash cymbal, whilst simultaneously wielding a sick air guitar and shredding. I’m full stank face mode, and we’re only a minute into the album.

Let that visual inform you of the tone of this review. sleepmakeswaves make me so excited and I need everyone to know about it.

Lead single “Super Realm Park” is big, energetic and driving. It has loud parts and quiet dynamic sections. There’s some glitchy electronic elements at times, and lots of tremolo playing. It finishes with a lovely piano outro. It showcases exactly what sleepmakeswaves are capable of.

Here’s an extract from the press release for the second single, “Ritual Control”:

The band comments: “Ritual Control was originally demoed as Dr. Riff Has Arrived. I still wonder whether we were mistaken to have not kept the old title.

Otto originally presented the skeleton of the song to us with the concern that maybe the riff were “too dumb”. In fact, Tim and I responded, they are the perfect quantity of dumb. Sure, these riffs aren’t going to earn a PhD but they will hold down a full-time job, get the kids to school on time and read the occasional piece of challenging non-fiction on weekends. These kinds of courageous and heartfelt conversations are the core of what effective post-rock songwriting is all about.“

Big dumb riffs. That’s what we want. Why think when you can headbang? Local doomlords Beastwars have the slogan “Obey the Riff”, which is both marketing genius and an apt phrase, and summarises exactly the feeling I’m trying to convey. Most sleepmakeswaves songs are instrumental. We don’t need to get caught up pondering meaning and . Dumb riffs = good music. Also, Soundgarden have a song entitled “Big Dumb Sex”. Not sure how that’s relevant but I feel it supports my case somehow.

I’m not sure which riff in “Ritual Control” riff is the “dumb riff” in question, but there’s a great part at 2:30 where everything drops out, and an extremely raunchy riff comes centrestage, and I must draw your attention to that part of the song.

The album starts of extremely strong, and you definitely know about this. Things shift gear down from such bombastic heights and begin to take a turn with the fourth track, “Black Paradise”, which features quiet guitar picking for the first half, followed by pretty synth drone and guitar swells in the following song, “Verdigris”.

Two songs features ethereal vocals, which is a point of difference for an instrumental band. We hear singing on “Terror Future” – with its especially outstanding basslines, and also on the titular track.

“It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It” is truly beautiful. The serene fingerpicking and searing yet calm guitar playing reminds me of Dan Caine’s work. It builds up with an anthemic rock feel, but there’s something special about this track that sets it apart from the others. It feels more considered and emotive, and somehow befitting of it’s name. To quote the band again: “The title is a line from zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, about not needing to find words for everything all the time.” I can’t explain it, but I somehow understand how fitting that is when I hear the song.

This is what I wanted. This is what I needed. sleepmakeswaves delivers, yet again. It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It sounds simply huge. The album feels short, but it packs such a punch that perhaps more music would cause fatigue. It is an album of two halves. The immense, high energy rock songs at the start of the album are incredible and fill me with such incredible joy and excitement. And then the later half of the album features a few quieter tracks to show that sleepmakeswaves aren’t just a one-trick-pony. But trust me, it’s all fantastic. Or maybe don’t trust me – I’ve painted a picture of a madman when describing my reactions to sleepmakeswaves’ music. – but at least check out this excellent album.

sleepmakeswaves have Australian, American and European tours lined up to promote this album. They are playing alongside their countryfolk Meniscus and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, as well as Taiwanese math-rockers Elephant Gym. I encourage you to attend one of those shows if you get the opportunity. As I mentioned earlier, I will be seeing them at dunk!festival in Belgium, and I am fizzing with excitement for it.

It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It will be released on 12 April 2024

sleepmakeswaves links:

Order: https://sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sleepmakeswavesaus
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sleepmakeswaves
Label: https://birdsrobe.com

Review and photos by Joseph James

Album Review: Vorn – The Late Album

There’s no hiding that I love Vorn – the eponymous band of Vorn Colgan, also featuring Thomas Liggett on violin and Nick Brown on drums. I once flew to Nelson overnight to see them play in Mapua and I took my parents to the gig.

Have you ever had that experience where you’re watching a movie with your folks and then a sex scene comes on and it becomes extremely uncomfortable and you’re not quite sure where to look? Yeah… the gig was a bit like that. I’m not sure why I thought it’d be wise to take my fairly conservative mother to a Vorn gig. But I did – and on the whole it was a good time – but just left me feeling a bit unclean and borderline regretful afterwards – which I think is the natural reaction for most people who listen to Vorn’s music.

Vorn live in Mapua. Image: Will Not Fade

You may remember that I reviewed Vorn’s (the band) last release, which came in the format of a one-take YouTube video. The experimental format was not much of a success – if measured by how many listens the release acquires – but in true Vorn fashion, it was original and showcased some great musicianship.

Since then, Vorn (the person) has found success through other means, going semi-viral with The Wellington Sea Shanty Society, and adding trombone to his ever-expanding repertoire as a member of New Orleans styled second-line band Crash Bandihoot.

Opening track “Fanfare” brings you up to date with events that have happened over the past five years. Vorn is living (or dying, depending on what sensationalist spin he drums up to sell albums) with stage four cancer. I found this out when I saw the press release advertising his 2019 “Last Chance to See” Final Tour. That news hit me hard. It took a while to sink in and I broke down in tears at work the following day. But thankfully modern medicine (or more likely: sheer stubbornness) has kept Vorn with us long enough for him to void his “last chance” promises and putt out another album for the general public to ignore. The song is obnoxious in pedantry and weird time signature changes, but with wry humour throughout so it’s all par for the course. It also explains the album title: The Late Album, which Vorn always joked would be his post-humous next release.

Lead single “No Arms No Chocolate” discusses horrific ways to perish and the futility of life. Life goes on… or rather it doesn’t. So it goes.

I love the pacing of it – very driven with lots of pulsing stabs of rhythm. It sweeps you up and takes you for a ride. A rip-roaringly cheerful nihilism anthem. Drummer Nick Brown shared that the song title references a weird French chocolate advert but couldn’t explain what that had to do with the song’s themes. Or why he wore that questionable Santa outfit in the video clip…

Follow up single, “A Safe Pair of Hands” lives up to its name. I find the bass line especially warm and comforting. I don’t have a clue what it’s about, but I find it incredibly endearing. They’ve done well blending traditional instruments with some programmed/synthesized elements to create a dynamically catchy and inviting wee earworm. It’s a reworked version of a song that Vorn contributed to a Powertools Records compilation years ago, and I’m glad that they’ve chosen to revisit it and bring more attention to that fantastic songwriting. This is the song that I keep coming back to, and I love how it makes me feel.

I’m not going to give a blow by blow summary. No one has that much tolerance to put up with all my in-jokes. But I’ll touch on a handful of the songs to highlight the variety of what you’d expect to encounter.

“Aging Hipster Blues” is a fun, tongue in cheek shuffle with an air of smarmy jaded elitism. It conjures the image of that Simpsons meme in which Principal Skinner is questioning how he became so out of touch. “Ballad in G Sharp Minor” is a waltz but certainly not a romantic dance. “The Unbearable Dumbness of Being” sounds like post-punk mixed with electronica. “Drug Friends” is the spiritual successor to “The Tinny House Hop” from Vorn and The (2008) – fun, catchy, and about drugs.

“Somebody Wrote A Prog Song About The Internet and It Is Fire Emoji” is extremly meta and the title sums it up. At first, it’s a bit slow for me. But when it hits, damn it’s awesome. Watch your volume levels on this one, because it’s so quiet for the first half, before coming in loud and strong with riffs and distortion and cool musical elements that bogans like. This is the song that outs me as an insufferable Tool fan if I chose to discuss it. The final passage is full stank face mode.

“A Dying Man’s Curse Be Upon You” is an interesting concept – the contrarian answer to the Irish Blessing that you’d expect to find embroidered and on display at any given Pakeha Grandmother’s house. I find it both funny and genuinely upsetting, especially considering the niche band merch Vorn made to accompany the song. Take time to listen to the lyrics and laugh at just how petty the curse is.

“Zombie Rock” is always a favourite. A jazzy number that invites crowd participation with the easily learnt lyric of “BRAINS!” Vorn never learns though. You’d think he would, running niche pub quizzes every week, but he doesn’t. This crowd participation always backfires and irritates him no end when people inevitably screw it up. And I find his frustration hilarious and always heckle him about it whenever the opportunity presents itself. Anyway, the song is infectiously fun. And even more fun when you shout out BRAINS! at the wrong time just to annoy the guy who wrote the song. [Editorial note: I have since found out that “Zombie Rock” is not on the album, but will be used as a B Side. But I love the song and I like heckling Vorn so I’ve opted to keep this paragraph anyway.]

Vorn’s musical output has always been fantastic. Ceaselessly witty, and drawing indiscriminately from random genres. And Vorn has never shied away from dark themes. But I do find the subject matter of this album confronting at times – seeing how it is about one of my friends dying. Vorn wrestles with his mortality by singing about his looming demise with humour.

You can see the trio wearing matching t-shirts in the video clip for lead single “No Arms No Chocolate”, and the album art for this single features the same image. It’s Vorn’s “deathmask”. To quote him “It was custom made to immobilise my face while they fired radiation into my brain. The X marks one of the spots”. They’ve turned brain tumours into band merch. Similarly, they have been selling t-shirts of Vorn’s face with eye’s X’d out for a few years – a design that they’ve updated for The Late Album cover art. Power to Vorn for finding a way to process things in a creative and productive way, but do get a bit sensitive about it.

Vorn is a nerd. An intellectual and a musical savant. The stereotypical New Zealander loves rugby and Six60, and Vorn is the antithesis of this. So I am torn between admiring his talent, and wanting to tear him down for being the tall standing poppy that he is. But ultimately I have to concede that I am a nerd too – undeniably so, seeing how I run a music blog. So of course I love how clever and complex Vorn’s music is. The biting social commentary, the marvelous harmonies, the odd time-signatures that the band plays in, just because they are good talented enough that they need to challenge themselves like that. All packaged up in a macabre, self-deprecating album.

Kudos to Thomas and Nick for making the band more than the sum of its parts. Thomas’ violin playing never ceases to fascinate me, the ways he makes different sounds with his plucking and bowing and using effects pedals. And as a drummer, I’ve always admired Nick’s playing, and marveled at how his style is so different to my own. And when the three of them are harmonizing, the vocals are to die for. The Vorn band has featured many different members throughout the years, but Thomas and Nick have stuck with Vorn for some time now, and it really shows with how well they can lock in and interplay.

Imposter syndrome is never far from reach, and as I try to conclude this review, I am very much aware that I will never be able to do justice to any analysis of Vorn’s creative outputs. I consider Vorn (the person) a genius, and am in awe of the talent that the Vorn trio amass. I have no idea what many of his songs are about, or quite how technical and challenging they are to play. It’s beyond my comprehension. But the music is fun, funny and interesting, and certainly a departure from convention.

Recommended for nerdy musicians, intellectuals and those with dark sense of humour.

Vorn links:

https://vornpowertool.bandcamp.com/
https://www.vornmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Vornmusic/
https://www.youtube.com/@vornography

Album Review: Winter Dust – Unisono

I first discovered Winter Dust through the first A Thousand Arms compilation, Open Language. I was instantly hooked. The song was called “There”, from the Thresholds EP – one of the best EPs I can name from any genre of music. It was emotive, passionate, raw, compelling. It just sucked me in completely.

Their next release, Sense By Erosion, was just as incredible, channeling more of that intense emotion into truly incredible music. In my review I wrote: “By taking the beauty of post-rock, the intensity of hardcore and the emotional aspects of emo, Winter Dust have fused their own sound that ticks all the right boxes for me.“

That was in 2018. The “before times”, if you will. Things have changed a lot since then.

Winter Dust faced some tragedies. In December 2019 they were involved in a car crash, totaling their van and destroying a lot of their instruments and musical equipment. And then in 2020 the world came to a standstill, with Italy hit especially hard.

I was planning to return to Europe in 2020 with my American brothers in Ranges, and we were to tour and play at dunk!Festival. I was really excited for that trip, and was planning to visit Italy for the first time to meet the members of Winter Dust, and possibly even see them play live. I’m online friends with a some of the members of the band. I remember them painting a scene that I interpreted with absolute terror, discussing how the pandemic was ripping through Italy at a pace that the medical professionals couldn’t defend against. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think I recall someone discussing mass graves. I do recall the sense of shock and disbelief. It was gut wrenching. The world was coming to an end.

In March 2020 Winter Dust made a post on their band page: “Here in Italy shows are banned, and so will be everywhere, soon.” And sure enough, their damning prophecy came true.

I felt so isolated, living on a small island nation, stranded in the Pacific. Just a few months earlier I was so full of hope – so excited – with plans to see the world and go traveling and meet up with foreign friends. And in a short space of time that was taken from me. It’s not fair to compare – and New Zealand had a lot better experience of the pandemic than most – but I found it extremely difficult to process. I grieved the loss of live music, and struggled with the feeling of complete helplessness over what was happening throughout the world.

A lot of what I just discussed hasn’t got much to do with the songs that Winter Dust write. But it provides context for what I’m reliving as I listen to this new album. The music is so emotionally potent already, and now brings up strong personally feelings and memories.

I’ve just scrolled back through the Winter Dust Facebook feed and found two posts from that time. I remember the feeling of dread and uncertainty, but looking back with hindsight on my side, I commend how they worded those posts. They were pragmatic, sending a message that yes, times are hard. But they also shared a message of hope: that we will get through this. Here is a post not long after their car crash, and here is a post about the looming pandemic. They were so strong in the face of all they were going through, and I’m so glad that they survived. And I’m grateful for this new album: Unisono.

Something to differentiate Unisono from Winter Dust’s previous works is that it features Italian singing. Which is awesome. Why wouldn’t a band from Italy sing in Italian? In a recent interview with DafenProject, Marco Vezzaro (vocals and guitar) explained that he could only express the things he needed to convey on this record accurately in his native tongue.

I don’t understand Italian and I feel that to put the lyrics through an online translator would somehow tarnish the music or cheapen the experience. But I don’t see this as a barrier. The music is still beautiful, the singing compelling. I don’t understand the words, but I can hear the emotion.

The magnificent guitar tone that opens “Castelli de Sabbia” is one of my favourite moments of the record. I don’t play guitar so won’t be able to do it justice with any description, but it’s so full sounding, especially when coupled with Vezzaro’s throaty vocals. It’s so central to what I love about Winter Dust’s sound, so familiar. Almost homely, in a weird way.

My two favourite tracks on Unisono involve guest appearances by fellow Italian duo Six Impossible Things. “Buio Presto” features such sweet singing courtesy of SIT singer Nicole Fodritto, with the music slowly elevating the mood, especially with snare-heavy drumming. And then BOOM, the guitar comes in and everything steps up a notch, with Vezzaro’s impassioned hardcore vocals bringing a touch of anger.

And lead single “Due Novembre” launches straight into it, with the band coming in full force, while Fodritto and Vezzaro harmonise. It a wonderful blending of textures. I love how they bring the song down to a simmer, Fodritto easing us out as the galloping drums cease and the other music trails off.

Some of these songs are shorter than I would have expected, and could use a bit more fleshing out, with more instrumental breaks for breathing room. I guess I’m used to the post-rock passages that take the time to unpack and explore musical ideas. These elements are still present, but Unisono leans more on the hardcore aspect of Winter Dust’s sound, being more direct, aggressive and concise.

There are many layers within the music, but I wouldn’t call it dense. It feels well balanced. Twinkling piano sits beside the distorted guitar. Overdriven intense passages are spaced out with reverberating breathing moments. There are six musicians in the band, plus the guest appearances from two members of Six Impossible Things. And together they pool their expertise to span the spectrum of music and the feelings that it can convey.

The last record, Sense by Erosion, featured a single called “Duration of Gloom“. I know it’s not the correct lyric, but I always hear the opening line as “Setting fire to the sun!”. That doesn’t even make sense, but the vocal delivery is so visceral. I picture Vezzaro delivering his searing call to arms as he cries out to the universe, shouting out to any who will listen. This is often what comes to mind as I listen to Winter Dust’s music. The impassioned vocals of someone crying out to the void, with brilliant music that carries just as much power and emotion to match.

And this is what has always struck a chord with me about Winter Dust. And it remains true with this latest album as well. We hear pain and anguish and frustration. But we also hear tenderness and beauty within the melodies. Unisono, is cathartic, to say the least.

I’m passionate about music. I wouldn’t have gone to the efforts of creating this website if I wasn’t. I’m a busy guy, but take time to write about music that inspires me; that I believe more people should hear about. And of the many bands I’ve written about over the years, I think Winter Dust is one of the bands most worthy of more attention.

Listen to Unisono. It’s an absolute triumph. And listen to Winter Dust’s older material too. Buy their records and a t-shirt. They are truly one of the best bands out there and they deserve all the support they can get.

Winter Dust are Marco Belloni (keys, piano, programming), Giulia De Paoli (grand piano, keys), Fabio Gallato (guitar), Marco Macchini (drums), Marco Lezzerini (bass), Marco Vezzaro (vocals, guitar, looping).

They’re based between Padua (IT) and London (UK).

Winter Dust links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winterdust

Bandcamp: https://winter-dust.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winterdustmusic/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@winterdust

Twitter: https://twitter.com/winterdustmusic

Keep an eye on Voice of the Unheard Records for potential physical releases.

Joseph James

Will Not Fade

Content for music lovers

Album Reviews