Album Review: We Lost The Sea – A Single Flower

We Lost The Sea - A Single Flower album art
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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

See also: We Lost The Sea –  Triumph & Disaster review by Gilbert Potts

Live review: distance final Wellington show

distance final show Wellington
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distance

w/ Serpent Dream, Sheeps, FVKVSHIMA
Valhalla, Wellington
Friday 6 June 2025

Serpent Dream

I have nothing but love for Valhalla, the treasured venue that I consider my musical home. That said, it has a notoriously sticky floor a lot of the time. Opening act Serpent Dream was playing and I was shocked to see roughly a dozen people sitting down to enjoy their tunes. It was a suitable reaction to the lovely music, but I’ve always been of the mindset that making any more than the bare minimum of contact with the Valhalla floor was inadvisable. They were a duo: Josh on guitar and some vocals, and Kelda on violin. Kelda had contributed violin to distance recordings in past and they’d always discussed playing together at some point. I’d not encountered Serpent Dream beforehand, but I came away a fan. The ethereal music left us spellbound and paved the way for a great night ahead.


Sheeps have been a mainstay in the local music scene for some time now. I remember first seeing them play when they opened for Hiboux at San Fran during their Migrations tour. I know that they bonded with distance at Twisted Frequency festival one year that they’d both played, and had been tight ever since.

Their drummer Thomas has been living in Auckland for a few years, and it hasn’t always been worth flying him down to Wellington for gigs. Pete from FVKVSHIMA had been filling in here and there, opening for Toe, and playing Newtown Festival and Cubadupa. It was nice to see Thomas back on the drum throne for this gig.

Sheeps play a interesting brand of rock that draws from the lighter side of prog and post rock, while still leaving an impression. Three guitarists play intricate melodies and frontman Dean Blackwell delivers soaring vocals that remind me of Radiohead.

[Sheeps are currently raising funds to press their album Working the Machine on vinyl. Here is a link if you’re interested: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/getworkingthemachinepressedtovinyl]


FVKVSHIMA and distance have enjoyed a long friendship. I think they both opened for Spook the Horses years ago, which was FVKVSHIMA’s first show. Sam Butler filled in on bass one time – which is no small undertaking, considering how technical FVKVSHIMA’s music is. And the bands have played together many times. They will also be playing together in Christchurch next weekend, at distance’s final show.

I’m a big fan of FVKVSHIMA, and was honored that they were happy to work with me to premiere their debut single “Kuato” last year in May. They have immense stage presence and irresistible djenty grooves. Thematically, they draw heavy influence from from post-apocalyptic and sci-fi canon. Musically, I liken them to Meshuggah and Killing Joke.

Check out their new single “The End is Nigh“, released a few days ago.


It’s a sad moment. distance are one of the best bands to arise from the NZ music scene in the past decade. It started out as a solo lockdown project from Sam Butler, but before long became a fully fledged band. They’ve easily the best actively gigging post-rock band in the country for a lot of their tenure.

We last saw them touring with Australian band Myriad Drone in February. Myriad Drone were about to release their newest record, and were selling it before the official release dates at these shows. distance had an album in the works too, and had planned on releasing it to coincide with that tour, but some delays meant that the album wasn’t ready in time.

It’s a shame, because that album is a ripper. so as not to forget (released March 28, 2025) is a masterpiece. It’s dynamic and nuanced and shows clear growth in songwriting abilities. It also clearly draws from the trio’s metal roots, with plenty of big riffs and blastbeats that are both tasty and tasteful. Without question my favourite album released so far this year, and I feel like I’m still barely scratching the surface with discovering how much it has to offer.

So yeah, it’s sad that such an amazing band is calling it a day, and that they didn’t have much to to showcase their incredible new record. But they’re ending on a high note. Sam Butler is moving to Europe. Exciting new adventures await. A shame that this spells the end of a great band, but I have no doubt we will see more from him at some point in the future.

I haven’t even touched on their set. It was great. Many friends had come together for the farewell, and you could feel a nice energy in the room. A mix of hope and support, celebrating a band that we were proud to be friends with, albeit tinged with a bittersweet sadness.

Sam Austin has a really understated power in his presence, standing strong with a wide stance, holding his big bass guitar and delivering thunderous tones. As a drummer, I always love seeing Levi play. He’s a metal drummer in gazillion bands and I love seeing how he tastefully incorporates his metal chops into a style that doesn’t always ask for it. He has a deft ability to push the music in creative ways.

And then we have Sam Butler. The sonic wizard. distance has always been his project. He looked the part, his long curls hiding his face as he did his best shoegaze impression. But now and again you’d get a peek at his smile. He’s humble and a bit shy on stage. He made a few slip ups pressing the wrong buttons on his pedal board, and he sheepishly confessed that he’d made a terrible error choosing to take his shoes off and play in his socks [see prior entry for Valhalla floor: very sticky and gross]. But we all know that he’s incredible and we love him and his band and all the great contributions they’ve made to the music community as a band and as individuals.

It was fantastic. New lighting that I hadn’t seen at Valhalla before helped set the mood. Kelda from Serpent Dream jumped up onstage to add violin to one song, just as Toby has added sax at distance gigs in the past. The new songs are awesome and the older tracks wrapped themselves with warm familiarity. An end of an era for sure.


Tickets for distance’s final show in Christchurch next Saturday, with FVKVSHIMA, Ragweed and No Broadcast: https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/gig/96239/Distance-Final-Show—w/-Fvkvshima,-Ragweed-and-No-Broadcast.utr

 

distance links: https://lnk.bio/distancenz

 

Words and photos by Joseph James 

Live Review: distance and Myriad Drone at Valhalla, Wellington

Distance Myriad Drone Poster
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distance (NZ) and Myriad Drone (Au)
w/ Spiral & Their Eyes Were Flowers
Valhalla, Wellington
Friday 21 February 2025

Call me hipster, but I’ve been a big fan of distance since before their first release. I remember listening to an advanced copy of their debut EP, over time that Sam Butler sent me and being highly impressed how great he’d managed to make it sound, especially considering how it was essentially a lockdown bedroom album. But then again, I wasn’t surprised. Sam is well known within the music scene. His touches can be widely seen – mixing and recording music, designing posters and album art, filling in on bass and guitar. distance was a project that highlighted just how talented he was.

Since then, Sam has recruited a band of fantastic musicians, released a few albums, and played a bunch of shows. I’ve followed the band with great interest and was delighted when I saw this tour announced.

Myriad Drone have come over from Australia for the tour. They graced our shores last year, coming over as support for Russian Circles. There are a few cool connections between Myriad Drone and distance. Shane from Myriad Drone is from Nelson, as are the members of distance, although none of them live in Nelson these days. Shane used to be in a metal band called Zerstiren, who had a reunion tour late last year. Levi Sheehan – best known for drumming in Organectomy – filled in for Zerstiren for the reunion. And Levi also drums in distance. Levi and Shane got chatting about how they were both in post-rock bands, and next thing you know, they’ve planned a cool tour.


 

Spiral kicked the night off. They switched between mellow and intense frequently, but keeping the energy high. A lot of midwest emo and post-hardcore influences shone through, and I especially liked the spoken word sections that remind me of La Dispute. 

Next up were Their Eyes Were Flowers. They introduced their music as “pretty little songs” before launching into harsh, chaotic music. The songs had structure, but they seemed messy and partially free flow. I’m not sure about the tunings, but the guitars sounded discordant with jagged riffs. It was a challenging listen. I could see that they were trying to make some kind of artistic statement, but I didn’t like it.


Myriad Drone were up next. I’d bumped into them and had a chat with them on Cuba St shortly before the gig, and they faintly remembered me from having yarns at the Russian Circles show last year. They seemed happy to see me, and were super friendly. And their music was great. They’re about to release a new album, A World Without Us, on March 8th, and we were fortunate enough to get a taste of the new songs. They sounded fantastic. 

I thought it was funny that Shane and Simon wore Russian Circles and Botch t-shirts, respectively – both bands featuring the same bassist, Brian Cook. I thought Hayley was wearing a Nine Inch Nails top at first glance, but upon inspection it turned out to be a NIN x Monty Python parody referencing the Knights who say Ni!

You know that the band should be bringing the goods when they’ve all got in ear monitors and backing tracks, so it was no surprise that Myriad Drone had a full, vibrant sound. I was surprised how transcendent some of the songs sounded, even while Hayley was going nuts on the blastbeats. I loved seeing how Shane and Jacob added their vocals to the mix to create more subtle textures in the music as well. Their set was a real treat to behold.

distance have been around for a few years now, but it feels like they’ve ascended rapidly, garnering international recognition for their quality recordings, and great slots supporting overseas touring artists and NZ festivals. Earlier this month they’d joined God Is An Astronaut on the two NZ legs of their international tour.

distance have freshly been reduced to a core trio, but the three of them collectively create such a lush, dense sound that you’d have no idea that they’re a man down. You can just tell that they know what they’re doing. Toby Leman (best known for his band Hummicide, amongst many others) came on for a guest appearance for roughly half the set, adding his sweet saxophone to the mix. He stood there statuesque, wearing sunglasses and adding a his element aspect to fantastic music. It sounded good, and was somewhat novel because I haven’t come across the use of brass instruments in post-rock music much (The Dark Third, and this Caspian video come to mind, but not much else).

The lights were fairly dim and subdued, and although distance are by no means boring, there was less of a focus on showmanship, and they let the immersive music do the talking. It was primal, captivating. Like Myriad Drone, they still had metal elements like blastbeats and tremolo riffing at times, but it never felt jarring. There’s not much that I find more thrilling than beholding exceptional musicians, masterfully commanding their instruments onstage like this.

Looking around the venue, Valhalla was reasonably full. Everyone else stood entranced. I bet they were all thankful that they’d chosen to spend their Friday night like this.

Tomorrow distance and Myriad Drone play the Paisley Stage in Napier, along with FVKVSHIMA. They’ll then head to the South Island for shows in Christchurch and Nelson next week.


distance and Myriad Drone are playing the following dates:

Friday 21 February Valhalla, Wellington w/ Their Eyes Were Flowers + Spiral

Saturday 22 February Paisley Stage, Napier w/ FVKVSHIMA

Friday 28 February Wunderbar Lyttelton, Christchurch w/ Necropolis + Ragweed

Saturday 1 March Coastal Carnage Festival 


Tickets from UnderTheRadar: https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/21973/Distance–Myriad-Drone-AUS-Aotearoa-Tour-2025-Announced.utr 


Links:

distance: https://lnk.bio/distancenz

Myriad Drone: https://myriaddrone.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/myriaddrone/

 

Words and photos by Joseph James

Live Review: God Is An Astronaut at Max Watts, Melbourne

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God Is An Astronaut

w/ Solkyri & Treebeard

Max Watts, Melbourne

Saturday 8 February 2025

Following the early days of post-rock, Godspeed You! Black Emperor laid the groundwork for long cinematic compositions that experimented with sounds and guitar, drums and bass moved on from being a lead plus rhythm section. It set a tone for hundreds of bands that would explore the possibilities in this universe.

One of those who joined that school in the early days was Irish trio God is an Astronaut, who played in Australia for the first time ever this last week. A good crowd turned up to see the band who, for many, was their first introduction to post-rock and songs without words.

First support was Melbourne heavy post-metal quartet Treebeard. Sprouting from the covid years they have strengthened their performances in leaps and bounds. Strong, hard riffs were the order of the day and there is melody carrying those riffs along, creating impressive dynamics and interplay.



One track in particular (I think it was called Snowman), served up it’s crescendo in an impressively unique way. Rather than getting faster or building to the lift in volume, the song walked along peacefully, then in an instant, with no increase in speed, our eardrums were hammered with thunderous, deliberate drums, bass and riffs. I knew something was coming, but I had no idea it would be this. They closed the set with some splendid harsh vocals – another welcome surprise. What a glorious set. Get another guitar and hold those riffs over a little longer and Treebeard will be unlike anything you’ve heard.

Solkyri were up next. A Sydney band formed about 14 years ago, I remember how impressed I was by the range of emotions they could convey live. They have over those 13 years developed a tightness and skill level in performing that matches their inventiveness and range of sound. Kicking off with the beautiful No Thoughts/No Dreams I found myself uplifted and smiling. Turns out you can start a post-rock set at other than full blast and still get the crowd’s attention. Half way through their five songs we were treated to the wonderful joy of This Can’t Wait, one of the first tunes they penned. I’ll never get tired of this.

Just when you thought the happiness would continue, they unleashed I am the Motherfucker, which slowly builds to an assault on your brain. The emotions you’ve been feeling are torn away for the melancholic, cautious, despairing intro, soon followed by the pleasure of being smashed against a wall of rocks. Take that!


But they end on another lighter note with Pendock & Progress, having covered their catalogue and provided a perfect sampler

And now the headliner. I met some folks who had travelled from Perth to catch the show, including one who has followed them all over the world, seeing them now 18 times. That’s an indication of the love the Astronaut fans have for the trio. They were very well rewarded, with a band on top of its game. Well written tunes, a flawless sound, and that special something that happens when you perform this often for so long.

The band has written many shorter tracks of around three minutes, and more than a few are introspective glimpses of life. Tonight though, the longer tracks had time to breathe, and there was a slow build of the tempo and volume over the first three songs- Odyssey, Echoes and Falling Leaves. I did get a feeling the crowd were not fully invested and the applause was subdued, but that all changed as the boys broke into All is Violent/All is Bright. From then the crowd came alive, the crescendos grew and the cheering was much more spirited.


When Apparition hit that second half we really got a taste of the harsh, angular riffs and chords these guys can knock out. The tension and harshness cut through the air and smacked you on the face before settling down to rest.

The rest of the night followed in a similar vein with gently paced melodies and riffs walking through different rooms, playing with four and eight bar building blocks, sometimes landing gently, others not so much.

The sound mix was good, the snare cracked good and loud, and guitar and bass each chased melodies and riffs, sometimes grabbing each other around the neck before releasing their grip to stop the screams.

When all was done and the crowd filtered out it was great to see all three bands chatting to punters and relaxing. I’d noticed less of that over recent years so it was lovely to see.

Oh and Nick, I forgot the two words you wanted me to use in this. Sorry mate 😊

 

Gilbert Potts

 

Tickets for the rest of the tour: https://www.birdsrobe.com/shows/god-is-an-astronaut-australia-and-new-zealand-tour-with-special-guests-solkyri-amp-treebeard

Ranges Eu Tour 24: Bristol, Manchester, Cambridge and dunk!festival

Ranges European Tour 2024 Tour Banner
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Baggins is back with Ranges, baby!

It’s been aaaages. Last time I saw these guys was 2018. We’d planned on reuniting in 2020 but the pandemic cancelled those plans, and I was too cautious to try international travel when they next toured Europe in 2022. They’ve released three albums since I last saw them: Babel (2019), Cardinal Winds (2021) and 33 (2023), as well as re-releasing “Night & Day“, the release that first introduced me to Ranges. So I’m looking forward to seeing them play some fresh material.

A few updates since I last toured with Ranges: Jared the bass player moved to Ohio. And Joey on guitar moved to Idaho, where he is currently playing in a heavy band called Onsetter.

So Ranges are down to a core trio.

Wilson Raska contributes to the overall vision, concepts, and art. Seems a bit weird to include someone who doesn’t play the instruments, but anyone familiar with Ranges will know that their art and overall concepts are vital to who the band is. Wilson and CJ co-own A Thousand Arms – a record label, printing workshop and distro. Chances are high that if you’re a post-rock fan, you’ll have seen Wilson’s art on t-shirts or posters.

CJ Blessum is the band dad. The most driven person I know. He’s the guy up at all hours, coordinating with people, running merch stalls, driving all through the night to get to the next gig. On top of that, he writes some pretty damn good post-rock music. CJ used to contribute to Will Not Fade now and again, and invited me to tour with Ranges across America in 2017. That was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.

And then we have Mark Levy. New York Hardcore drum legend. He’s a bit older than the others, and talks different, being from Brooklyn. And he is always the life of the party, and has a million amazing stories to share. He’s the guy I always turn to if I need drum advice.

Damn, I’ve really missed these guys. It’s amazing how spending time stuck in a van with a bunch of dudes for a few weeks can galvanise such friendships.

Last time I came to Europe I was in an absolute state for the entire tour. One of my flights – Auckland to Doha – was the longest commercial flight in the world at the time. Jetlag hit me hard and I felt too out of sorts to really enjoy myself. So this time I’ve opted to get to Europe a week earlier, hoping that the extra time would help me recover from jetlag before I join the band.

Also joining Ranges are Tim (guitar) and Tom (bass) from Astodan – an incredible Belgian post-rock band who Ranges first played with back in 2018. Tim is keeps up with Mark in terms of being larger than life and also being a drummer in a bunch of other bands in Belgium. He also finds it very hard to understand my New Zealand accent, which leads to lots of confusion and big laughs. Tom is a lot quieter, but he is by far the funniest person of the group when he cracks a joke.

We also have sound engineer Chuck Goodwin, who has also made the trip from Montana to keep the guys sounding great, and Sean Oliver is the Fanta-loving driver from Utah, charged with transporting us in the huge van.

Day 1

Monday 6 May 2024

Rough Trade Bristol, Bristol, England

w/ Fort, Din of Celestial Birds

I flew into London a week before meeting up with them, and arranged to meet them in Bristol on the day of the first show. They’d spent some time in Belgium rehearsing with Tim and Tom from Astodan.  We were due to meet at Rough Trade, the venue, at 4pm for load in. But they’d encounters issues when trying to come across the channel on the train. They’d been sent back to Belgian to obtain signatures that disclose something to do with taxes before they were allowed across into the UK. This put them way behind schedule and they were pushing it to make it to Bristol in time for their set.

Rough Trade Records Bristol Rough Trade Records Bristol

In the meantime I introduced myself to the other two bands, and helped Nick the sound tech set up. The house drum kit was a Natal – a brand I’d not encountered before. It was a really cool orange vistalite.

I’d seen El Ten Eleven play at a Rough Trade in Brooklyn, New York in 2017, so I’m assuming it is a chain of record stores. It was a nice venue. There were loads of cool records and books and posters for sale, as you’d expect. The venue was a great size and I got along great with Nick the sound tech. They had these interesting extractor fans that Nick told me they had been required to install before reopening after the covid pandemic. They suck fresh air into the room and filter viruses out, or something along those lines.

 

The first band to play, FORT, are Welsh. I’d been in communication with them leading up to this and I found them very friendly. They are high energy and the best part was during the final song when Gavin jumped down into the audience with his guitar and they all went nuts during the big climactic part.

Din of Celestial Birds are also playing dunk!fest at the end of the week, and have recently signed to A Thousand Arms. They give a more professional vibe, using backing tracks and even bringing their own fog machine and a lighting rig similar to the one Ranges had when I toured with them in the USA. There’s a lot more to take in, with six of them onstage.

 

We’d been nervous about when Ranges would arrive, given their big delay, but they arrived just in time. It was a rushed set up and line check, and then they played at their scheduled time. It was such a buzz to see the guys again after six years. It was mostly newer material that they’d written since I’d seen them last, but I got a bit emotional when they played a few Ascensionist songs. Tim and Tom were feeling a bit nervous about playing the set, being fill ins, but they did a stellar job and honestly, I don’t think anybody would have known that the band had only just arrived, or that they hadn’t played together much.

After the gig we drove to Bath and stayed at a YMCA. I bunked with Tim, Tom and Chuck.


Day 2

Tuesday 7 May 2024

The Deaf Institute, Manchester, England

w/ Fort, Din of Celestial Birds

Bath was named after ancient Roman public baths that were situated there, taking advantage of the natural hot springs. Like many English cities, there were grand, stately buildings everywhere with ornate masonry. I gave Sean a hat I’d bought for him at Primark that had the Fanta logo all over it. He was chuffed. Sean is a Fanta connoisseur, and loves trying the Fanta in every country he goes to because they’re all slightly different. French and Belgian Fanta are among his favourites, and American Fanta is sadly not up to par. We spent the morning soaking in the hot pools and steaming in the saunas. It was a great relaxing way to start the day.

L-R: Wilson, Tom, Mark, CJ, Me. Photo taken by Sean

Sean had stayed somewhere else, and had managed to maim his left hand when returning the key to the lock box. He showed up at the van at the agreed time, with a bunch of bloody napkins held to his palm. We stopped in at an emergency room on the way to Manchester, but there was going to be at least a three hour wait, so we got some dressings at the pharmacy and continued on our journey.

Mark was quite excited to go to Manchester because he’s a fan of The Smiths. He insisted on having a photos taken outside the Salford Lad’s Club, which I thought was the name of a brothel. He wanted to replicate a photo from God Save The Queen, by The Smiths. I don’t really know much about it, but please enjoy this photo that I edited of Mark, Sean and I at the Lad’s Club.

Tonight’s venue was The Deaf Institute. The facade read “ADULT DEAF & DUMB INSTITUTE”. Tom cracked a joke about there being a translator up the front to sign the lyrics, which was hilarious because all the bands are instrumental. There was another gig happening in the same building on the floor above.

Sean managed to get his hand seen to while we were setting up, which was a relief.

I liked the venue but the stage was tiny. Two members of Din of Celestial Birds had to stand on the floor in front of the stage because there was no way all six of them would fit. The lighting was also terrible. But the show was good and the band sold lots of merch.

Lots of people had mentioned that Manchester is great to visit. I had a little wander round during soundcheck but didn’t really see enough to form an opinion. I did find a place with a huge MF Doom mask though, which I loved.

After the gig we found a pizza joint that was still open after midnight, before heading back to the hotel we stayed at.


Day 3

Wednesday 8 May 2024

The Portland Arms, Cambridge, England

I would say this was the best day of the UK leg of the tour.

Wilson and I had matching shirts.

We stopped in at Croxden Abbey. I’ve been seeing lots of old churches and castles during my time in the UK, but I still get super excited about it every time. Many have been bombed during the WWII, or fell casualty to prior wars. Henry VIII also disbanded many churches, convents etc when he formed the Church of England so that he could divorce his wife. I love walking amongst the old ruins, admiring the workmanship that is still so evident hundreds of years later, and getting the sense of history of those locations. We did some cool/cheesy photoshoots before grabbing lunch.

Croxden Abbey

Croxden Abbey

Lunch was at a quaint countryside tavern. We all ordered fish and chips. I didn’t think they were very good, but the others all loved the novelty of having such a distinctly English meal, complete with pints of ale, mushy peas, tartare sauce and lashings of malt vinegar.

I really liked The Portland Arms, our venue for the night. The stage lighting was on point, Chuck had the sound dialed in, and the green room was a welcome haven where we could relax, charge our devices, and use WiFi.

CJ took us on a walk around Cambridge. We climbed an old motte – the hill from a former castle where they would have built the defensive keep. We walked around some university grounds (around, not through. They were very clear that visitors are unwelcome), and saw a small apple tree that is theoretically linked to Isaac Newton somehow. The place reminded me of Oxford, although nowhere near as impressive. We finished up with some great doner kebabs from a street vendor before heading back to the gig.

I met a local photographer, Dobbin Thomas, who took some incredible shots of the night. He was happy for me to feature some here. Give him a follow: https://www.instagram.com/robin_dobbin_t

FORT by Dobbin Thomas

Fort Portland Arms by Dobbin Thomas (1)

Din of Celestial Birds by Dobbin Thomas

Din of Celestial Birds Portland Arms by Dobbin Thomas

Ranges by Dobbin Thomas

Ranges Portland Arms by Dobbin Thomas

And here are some of my photos below

It looked and sounded fantastic. Ranges really came together tonight and locked in well. Everyone was on a high.

 


Day 4

Thursday 9 May 2024

En route to dunk!festival

We got up bright and early for a 7am departure. Touring can sound fun and glamourous, but the reality is often it means late nights, inadequate sleep, eating crappy food obtainable at petrol stations, spending all day in a van. Sometimes it wears you down. We spent hours at customs. The government wanted to ensure that we aren’t selling items that they could be claiming tax on. It just meant sitting parked up in a bay with hundreds of trucks and a lot of waiting.

This pushed back our departure time for our train to Europe. Which meant more waiting around. There were more confusions about the carnet at border security and the feeling in the van was starting to get tense, but Tim was able to talk things through with the police and it was fine. Thankfully he speaks French and was able to explain things. We finally got on the train to France and left just before 2pm.

We’ve got a long day of travelling ahead, but we’re excited to get to Belgium for dunk!festival. Din of Celestial Birds are scheduled for 17:40, and Ranges are on at 22:00

UPDATE WRITTEN LATER ON

We missed Din of Celestial Birds, but lots of people insisted that they were one of the better acts at dunk!fest that weekend so well done to them.

We made our way to Ghent, unloaded our gear, and then the Americans and I took our personal belongings to our accommodation. The accommodation was across the road from Kinky Star, the venue Ranges first played in Europe, back in 2018.

We made our way back to the venue. Last time I’d come to dunk!festival it was held at a magical space in Zottegem. There was a forest stage and a mainstage tent. People camped onsite and it had a wonderful culture where everyone reveled in the music, fueled by fries and the finest Belgian beers. They’ve switched venues, and now it is in Ghent. Regulars mourn the loss of the camping experience associated with the festival, and the stages didn’t have the same magical atmosphere as the forest, but it wasn’t a bad set up.

It was a pretty immense building, with four different stages as well as a bar/restaurant and artist green rooms. I was constantly getting lost as I tried to navigate the numerous staircases, but always found my way eventually.

We met back up with Tim and Tom. Their better halves had come to meet them. Tim’s wife is from Spain so I tried conversing with her in Spanish. Ironically enough, everyone understood me a lot more clearly when I spoke broken Spanish than when I just spoke in English with my New Zealand accent…

We visited catering, had a fantastic meal, and then began to set up our gear.

Chuck was getting a bit nervous, but he had the sound dialed. And people were already flooding into the room to listen to the soundcheck.

The Balzaal was full long before the band came onstage. I found this interesting. They could have chosen to watch other bands play downstairs. But they were that eager to see Ranges that they came early.

 

And that eagerness was justified.

I’ve seen Ranges play 22 times now. And this was the best by far. Tim and Tom bring an extra energy to the band that has elevated Ranges to new heights. They do jumps and kicks and move about, feeding off each other. I could see that they were all loving it, turning and looking at each other and just savouring the experience throughout their set. Being a drummer, I notice Mark’s playing the most, and I could tell he was giving it more oomph than usual. The lights looked incredible. Chuck had them sounding great. And the packed out audience was so enraptured to take it all in. 

I took photos from backstage and ensured their drinks were topped up. I tried to get front of stage to take photos at one point but there were so many people that I didn’t want to push past. Tim was dripping with sweat and asked me to fetch him a towel. I looked all around backstage and eventually stole the handtowel from the toilet because I couldn’t find anything else.

Ranges set was a triumph. They were all just beaming. And rightly so.

At the end of the night we celebrated the end of the tour. Ranges had made a custom vodka to be released alongside their album Babel, and Wilson had specially bought a bottle and some cigars all the way from Montana. I don’t usually drink alcohol these days, but I joined in and got a bit silly. I’m sure Wilson has some embarrassing footage that will appear in a future Ranges release.


The rest of dunk!fest was cool. My highlights were Maserati and sleepmakeswaves. sleepmakeswaves was quite late on the final night and we were all tired and fading by that stage, but I’m glad I stuck it out because smw bring me so much joy. They faced a number of difficulties like pedals not working and straps breaking, but none of these hiccups dampened the mood.

It was nice to spend some quality downtime with the Ranges guys outside the festival as well, especially once the pressures of touring had finished. We enjoyed seeing some local sites (castles, canals and cathedrals!) and eating some great food like delectable French pastries, Belgian meatballs, and of course, frites. Last time I’d been in Ghent I was horrendously jetlagged and also got fairly drunk, so it was also nice to see more of the place in a less messy state.

With CJ and Mark in Ghent. Photo by Wilson Raska

CJ commented how dunk!festival always happens on Ascension weekend, Ascension Day being a public holiday. And that is the day that Ranges have played, on the three times they’ve played dunk!fest. And the first time, in 2018, they were touring their album The Ascensionist. There’s something especially fitting and special about that.

We had a teary goodbye at Brussels airport on the Sunday. These guys are like brothers to me. We’ve been through so much together. Over the years I’ve spent 4 weeks in the van with them, driving countless miles together. Drunken, late nights. Sampling local foods. Sharing beds in cramped sleeping quarters. Meeting crazy characters. So many laughs and stupid in jokes. Jokes that don’t make sense and we can’t even remember the origins of, but that we still find hilarious. Lots of bonding over incredible music.

I’m so thankful that CJ invited me to join them on tour back in 2017. And I’m thankful that he insisted that I join them on tour again this time.

Greets and great times to you all.

Joseph James AKA Baggins