Post-Rock

Here for a moment… A Tribute To Maybeshewill

Maybeshewill
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Leicester post-rockers Maybeshewill just played their last ever show at KOKO in London, supported by worriedaboutsatan and You Slut! [who reformed especially for the show].

I couldn’t make it. Sadly that means I will never see them play live. It’s understandable, seeing as I live on the opposite side of the world. I honestly think that I will miss the band though.

Like I mentioned in my review of their final album, I discovered Maybeshewill through a sampler attached to Rock Sound magazine. The song had a risqué title, and being a teenage boy, I was terrified that my parents would stumble upon the song that I had ripped to the family computer. I wonder what would have been worse – my mum finding a file named “The Paris Hilton Sex Tape”, or the also rudely named “C.N.T.R.C.K.T” from the same album?

I think Maybeshewill were the band that I joined Bandcamp for, so that I could purchase their live album Live At The Y Theatre. It included a link to download the video of the show, but I never actually downloaded it because the file size was 2 gigabytes, and my bloody flatmates always used up the internet bandwidth allowance, meaning that the download was nigh on impossible on the capped speeds once we had exceeded our limits. I’ll upgrade to unlimited internet someday…

As well as loving the band for their music, I also admire them for their DIY ethic. They started their own record label/collective, Robot Needs Home, to launch their own debut EP. I don’t think they ever anticipated growing to the size they are now.

This blogpost from guitarist John Helps aligned so well with my ideals about authenticity, resourcefulness and community. In the liner notes of Not For Want Of Trying they write “this record was performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Maybeshewill at various locations throughout 2007. It cost us nothing. DIY FTW”. They proceed to thank friends and family who helped them with the process, stating that “we owe more to these people than we owe to the bank”, and “this record is as much yours as it is ours”. There seems to be more integrity in any artistic project when it is independently run, because the artist needn’t compromise their values to appease any external figures. I try to run my blog by those principles, and consider my work a success, despite never having spent any money on it.

The band’s final album, Fair Youth, was released just as I started this blog. I enthusiastically reviewed it, and although it was not my best piece of writing (being among my first), it taught me a lot about what it takes to write for a music blog (including don’t let your dad leave comments that people will laugh about on the internet!). I stand by what I wrote back then – it is a good album, and one the band can be proud to leave as a parting gift.

Maybeshewill will always be important to me. They were one of the bands that started me on a journey of discovering post-rock. They showed me that music can be exciting without vocals. They combined electronica, samples and brilliant musicianship. They made brilliant music using an indie model.

To quote one of their song titles : “Our History Will Be What We Make of It”. Maybeshewill made a legacy worth remembering

Joseph James

Live review with gallery: Jakob at San Fran, Wellington

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Jakob

w/ Titan

San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington

Saturday 12 March 2016

Napier trio Jakob are never anything short of superb, and last night was no exception. I’ve seen them play roughly half a dozen times now, and mostly at this same venue. To be honest, other than the support acts, these shows are rarely any different. But it’s hard to improve a show when it is already so close to perfection.

Guitarist Jeff Boyle hypnotises us as he rocks back and forward, strumming and picking and rolling the volume knob to create swirling waves of sound. The venue vibrates and rib cages rattle as hairy behemoth Maurice Beckett plucks at his bass strings. Drummer Jason Johnston ties in with the throbbing bass lines by smashing tribal rhythms out his kit. He hits with power and control, economic with his movements. Lights bathe the trio in various colours as they cast an enchantment with their musical spells.

Go pros and cameras were on stage filming the entire set, and the merch guy told me that they are expecting new shirt designs in the next few weeks, so I wonder if there will be an exciting announcement to follow?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Jakob are one of the best in the world – essential viewing every single time. I saw them last time they came, co-headlining with Beastwars. I saw them the time before that, touring their new album Sines. I’ve seen them play around half a dozen times now, many times headlining, and other times supporting acts like Tool, Russian Circles and Butterfly Effect. And when the standard of the talent is so high, I don’t see why I would ever stop attending Jakob shows when they come to town.

Joseph James

 

ALBUM REVIEW: CHRISTOFFER FRANZEN – WIDE AWAKE

Christoffer Franzen Lights Motion Wide Awake
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I’ve always thought the act of sleeping to be somewhat of a strange occurrence.  While essential to one’s health and wellbeing it still strikes an awkward chord in me, especially in the company of new acquaintances.  Having toured and spent numerous nights positioning myself on a stranger’s floor, I’ve never quite become comfortable with the bizarre concept of turning one’s self off for a few hours.  I think I’ve sort of just accepted the process as strange and have never really taken the time to think about why.  We all do it.  Most of us wish we could do more of it.

And then there are people who don’t sleep.  I’ve really only been acquainted with one insomniac in my life and I can’t even begin to comprehend the amount of frustration they must experience.  As weird as I find sleeping to be, I’m very grateful that it comes easy for me.  However, with two young kids, I’ve had more than my fair share of sleepless nights.  I love my girls to death but these nights have been an incredible challenge for my sanity and never once have I felt the creative itch at the tired hours of 3 AM.  However, Christoffer Franzen (most notably of Lights & Motion) has been able to channel his sleepless nights in the most remarkable way.

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Franzen is no newcomer to the art of writing incredibly moving music.  His initial endeavor, Lights & Motion, quickly spread across the globe and captured the attention of Deep Elm Records.  Situated within the genre of cinematic post-rock, Franzen’s music is perfectly suited for TV and film.  He has great writing discipline that allows the music to breathe and grow but not become too drawn out and tired.  Self-taught on every instrument, Franzen orchestrates his music by himself locked away in a small Swedish studio during the early hours of a sleepless night.

Having garnered remarkable success in getting his music placed on major Hollywood film trailers (Concussion, Transcendence, Lone Survivor, to name a few), high profile ad campaigns and Super Bowl commercials, Franzen is a proven musician and, more importantly, a brilliant composer.  With three Lights & Motion albums under his belt, he is set to release his third composer release titled Wide Awake on March 18th, 2016.  Following in the footsteps of Music For Film & Television, Volumes 1 and 2, Wide Awake is a twelve song exploration in brevity and mastery.  Unlike Franzen’s work with Lights & Motion, his composer releases are made up of short, straight to the point, orchestrations specifically built for licensing.  And while these pieces may leave the listener yearning for a few more minutes of musical bliss, they still work wonderfully as a whole.

Franzen took a different approach to writing Wide Awake as compared to Music For Film & Television, Volumes 1 and 2.  As the album title hints, he wrote these songs during the day.  This change in writing approach created a beautiful musical result that still remained true to his writing ability but revealed a more inspiring, uplifting side to his talent.  I have a deep appreciation for writer’s who allow their surroundings to drive their work and find Christoffer Franzen’s willingness to use his insomnia to musically articulate himself both rewarding and inspiring.

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While Wide Awake was written during the day, it still maintains a dreamy vibe that positions itself nicely next to Franzen’s previous work.  Understanding his background as a composer and his battle with insomnia, immediately moves me to look at each piece on Wide Awake as a short dream.  I’m not an avid dreamer, but when I do dream I find them to be short and fluid, moving in and out of semi-connected storylines.  The brief nature of all of Franzen’s compositions work wonderfully as a soundtrack to a dreamscape that moves from one idea to the next, sometimes working together and other times playing with sporadicity.  I’d like to think that while each of us are sleeping, Christoffer Franzen is hard at work writing the perfect soundtrack to our dreams.

C.J. Blessum

 

This review is about Franzen’s cinematic work. Click here for a review of Franzen’s other project, Lights & Motion.

Album Review: Ranges – The Gods of The Copybook Headings

Ranges Gods of the copybook headings
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I first became introduced to Ranges when C. J. Blessum asked me to review their song “Night & Day” [link to review]. Emails back and forward led to C. J. and I becoming friends, which in turn led me to invite C. J. to become a regular contributor to this site [link to some of his reviews].

Does that mean my reviewing of the new Ranges album is a conflict of interest? Well… yes. Plus, I actually feature on the first track, so I’m extra biased.

But then again, no review is completely objective. So I will write down my thoughts on this album, and you can decide if my opinion is worth trusting.

I recently realised that Ranges are a concept band. Every musical release has a theme (including the signs of the zodiac, teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the 24 hour cycle, and a Paul Harvey radio monologue). Initially most songs were entirely instrumental, with only song and album titles suggesting what each song was about, but following on from the recent standalone single”If I Were The Devil“, Ranges have begun to use samples of spoken word and prose in their music.

This most recent album uses Rudyard Kipling’s 1919 poem The Gods of the Copybook Headings as inspiration, with the first song introducing the poem, and the following ten songs written about each respective stanza of the poem.

 

Copybooks were used in schoolrooms early last century, to help students practice their handwriting. They were lined pages, blank save for idioms and proverbs neatly written on the headings, as examples of ideal penmanship. This is a foreign concept these days, with most children more adept controlling a computer or tablet than a pencil. I distinctly remember “writing lines” being a punishment at school (like seen in the opening scene of each Simpsons episode). But back in the day, handwriting was valued, and repeating phrases of wisdom was the way in which it was learnt.

One can imagine how these phrases would become ingrained in the mind of the student, written and re-written countless times as they improve their handwriting abilities. Biblical verses, adages, and common Victorian sayings learnt through rote writing. Kipling used these as the basis for his poem – a discussion on how traditionally valued wisdoms were being ignored with detrimental effect to society.

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Image: http://www.barnes113.karoo.net/History/copy_books.htm

We are introduced to this poem by the titular opening track, read by a number of individuals (including yours truly. Does my New Zealand accent stand out?) The music is eerie and atmospheric, and the spoken word is slightly altered and decayed, as if lost in time.

This seamlessly transitions into “The Gods of the Market Place”, at first with dominant reverberating guitars and crashing drums, followed by soft piano echoing after a few measures. Closing track “With Terror and Slaughter Return” mirrors the sing, effectively bookending the album, almost making it into a loop like they did with a previous release, “Night & Day”.

The post-rock dynamics of building and transitioning from soft to searing continues through the album. Not to say that it gets tired, but the tracks tend to blend together. Overdriven guitars soar, and then drop back to gentle swells and slight picking. The piano provides light atmospheric pads, and articulate twinkling mantras. Restrained drums grow more bolder washy cymbals fill in the soundscape. It’s what to expect if you are at all familiar with Ranges – soothing one moment, and crushing the next.


Ranges embody the DIY ethic. They write, record, produce and distribute music themselves, being lucky enough to have a recording studio and printing company run by members of the band. They are also very supportive of others in the local music scene and indie music worldwide. I would love to see them play live in their hometown, but alas, I live on the other side of the world. I would also love to pour over a physical copy of their album art and liner notes. Having seen other material put out by their printing company (A Thousand Arms), I can assure you that the attention to detail will be stunning.

 One of the idioms the Kipling employees in his poem is “If you don’t work you die.” If this is the case, then Ranges need not fear death. They’ve averaged three releases a year since their conception, all self made, recorded, printed, etc… And not only is their music powerful and vast, but conceptually thought provoking if you chose to engage with it. All is not gold that glitters, but trust me when I say that this album is gold.

Ranges:

Bandcamp link

iTunes album download

www.facebook.com/alpharanges

Twitter and Instagram handle: @rangesmusic

 

Joseph James

 

 

 

 

ALBUM REVIEW: COMPASS & KNIFE – THE SETTING OF THE OLD SUN

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Like any other genre, post-rock encompasses a vast array of spin offs and variations.  From the math centric to the ambient, the challenge for those of us with a need to categorize falls in the realm of discovering the correct word to depict both what we hear and how it makes us feel.  I’ve never necessarily been a fan of sticking genres labels to bands since the process seems to be fairly relative from person to person.  One listener’s post-rock is another person’s indie.  However, without descriptors an album review renders itself pointless.  Fortunately for me, Seattle’s Compass & Knife is incredibly proficient at getting right to the point.

Compass & Knife’s newest release, The Setting of the Old Sun, is skillfully written, masterfully performed, and down right good.  The quartet of polished musicians take little time to introduce themselves musically and for those looking for a straight forward, what you hear is what you get record, The Setting of the Old Sun is perfect.  From short ambient intros and bridges to uptempo, in your face choruses, the guys of Compass & Knife deliver a fantastic array of musicianship that is easily digested yet intriguing enough for more than one listen.

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The eight song, almost entirely instrumental album was released on November 17th, 2015, and in a short amount of time was able to garner enough respect to receive some album of the year recognition.  These accolades are absolutely deserved and appropriately administered as it’s blatantly obvious real thought and care went into the production of this record.  What makes this even more impressive is the fact they self-produced and self-recorded this album.

Some listeners might not take the time to explore the production notes of this album, but as someone who produces and records his own band, I can attest to the challenges and frustrations this process presents and am always curious to see who was behind the board.  When self-producing and self-recording, not only will your band be on trial for it’s writing aptness, but your ability to capture your band’s sound and present it as a finished product will also face relentless scrutiny.  While this approach is extremely fulfilling it can also be painstaking.  I don’t know how many times I’ve mixed my own music until my ears could no longer discern one guitar from the next.  When revisiting the final product months later, I’ve found myself wishing the snare was a decibel louder or that I’d cleaned up some mids in the guitars.  Thankfully, bassist Austin Patterson and guitarist Jordan Brokaw did a fantastic job producing and recording The Setting of the Old Sun and should be sleeping very well at night.

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The Broken Bow Sessions – Click Here to Watch

While each song is worthy of attention, the album’s finale, “Drowned in Desire”, clearly surpasses it’s predecessors.  Compass & Knife saved the best for last and exceeded my expectations by putting together an incredibly well thought out, well executed music video to showcase both their musical prowess and their conceptual capacity.  As we enter into an era where anyone can shoot a music video on their iPhone, it’s absolutely motivating to see a band put together an impressive visual to accompany their music.

Instrumentally based music is inherently open ended and it’s usually up to the listener to piece together their own storyline since no lyrical content exists to steer the narrative.  While “Drowned in Desire” can still be interpreted as the listener chooses, the music video adds a deeper dimension to the song that made me appreciate and enjoy the song even more.  And, once again, the fact that they filmed and edited the video themselves will forever keep Compass & Knife at the forefront of my list of remarkable, noteworthy DIY bands.

https://youtu.be/16YPo7hOJNU

For anyone looking for a great album to put on the stereo while working, or for a soundtrack to accompany a road trip, I highly recommend Compass & Knife’s The Setting of the Old Sun.

C.J. Blessum