Post-Rock

EP Review: Barouche – Volume I: The Expedition

Barouche Volume I The Expedition cover
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Ross Jenkinson is London multi-instrumentalist who has just released a brilliant solo EP under the name Barouche.

The EP starts off with ‘Plot a Course’, a groovy latin-esque number that makes me think of Santana. I’m not usually a fan of much electronic music, but second track, ‘Across the Breeze’ is charming, in a similar style to Panda Panda. ‘If We Could but Rest…’ is another fun upbeat number, delightfully danceable with its offbeat drumming.

Two tracks remind me of darker post-metal like Cloudkicker. ‘The Demons are Shouting’ is tight, angular and djenty, whilst ‘The Better Angels’ is looser, with a deliciously dirty guitar tone coupled with sloshy cymbals.

In fact, those cymbals led me to a personal “Sherlock Holmes moment”. When listening through headphones, I noticed that the hi-hat cymbals were coming through the right hand earpiece. After messaging Jenkinson my suspicions were confirmed – he plays left-handed! Maybe I should pursue a career in detective work…

One key advantage that Barouche has over many other post-rock acts is that the music is tight and concise and not sprawling and slow building. As much as I like music with long build ups, I tend to play that stuff in the background. But I remain attentive to Barouche’s music because it’s short and exciting. People have short attention spans. This is why best-selling pop songs are short and repetitive. And why Barouche will be more palatable than other instrumental projects for many people.

It’s always impressive when someone can create a full musical project on their own. The likes of Lights & Motion and Cloudkicker have shown that it’s possible to still do a Mike Oldfield. And now Barouche has joined their ranks. The range of music is refreshingly experimental, covering different styles and exploring different musical flavours and colours. Jenkinson has displayed an impressive assortment of abilities in his arsenal, recording everything himself using both standard instruments and computer programming.

This collection is Volume I, showcasing a range of sounds and styles. Barouche will continue to flesh out these ideas with future releases, taking each sound in different directions and letting them evolve. If The Expedition is just a taster, then I’m excited to hear the music still to come.

You can download Barouche Volume I: The Expedition from Bandcamp here.

Keep on eye on that page. An ambient/noise record is due in a few weeks, with a  “Big, Happy, Rock” EP to follow shortly after. By sounds of things, Barouche won’t be slowing down any time soon.

Barouche      Facebook

Joseph James

Album Review: Gilmore Trail – The Floating World

Gilmore Trail The Floating World album cover
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I love post-rock music, be it the cinematic like Lights & Motion, heavy like Cloudkicker, slow-building like Mogwai, primal like Jakob, or sample infused like Maybeshewill. The reason I love post-rock is because with the exclusion of vocals, bands are freed up from the conventional verse/chorus/verse structure of modern song writing. The focus is on the music, and what can be achieved without boundaries set in place. Rather than using lyrics to send a message, musicians can create lush textural soundscapes that play on the listener’s emotions and evoke memories, feelings and places.

Sheffield based quartet Gilmore Trail are no exclusion. Named after a popular Alaskan track traveled to view the Northern Lights, Gilmore Trail capture a sense of grandeur and wonderment. The Floating World is their second album, due out on the 16th of May.

Gilmore Trail The Floating World press photo

From the sparse piano chords that open ‘Memories of Redfern’, through to the last lingering note of ‘Dusk’, Gilmore Trial ushers the listener into an exciting new world.

Title track ‘The Floating World’ is serene. I imagine it would be the perfect soundtrack if I was on the actual Gilmore Trail, isolated in Alaska and staring up at the mysterious lights in the cosmos. The song starts off by capturing the feeling of being remote in an icy wonderland, interrupted by roaring later on, like a storm blowing through.

Highlight track ‘Ballard Down’ is a 10 minute beauty that begins with gorgeous bass tone, eerie guitars and tribal drumming. After a few minutes clouds start to gather and rain falls softly, signalling a searing new segment in the piece. The one song contains many different moods but they flow seamlessly.

Gilmore Trail have spent time exploring the different timbres of the instruments used in this album. For example, during ‘Waveless Shore’, drummer Sam Ainger creates contrast by using a flappy, de-tuned drumhead in one section, and switches to a tightly strung skin the next. The samples are also used well, subtle yet effective. Many are recordings of the weather, like wind channeling through a valley, or the rainfall mentioned before. These add to the nature-inspired themes throughout the music.

The Floating World is epic, to say the least. It’s long and expansive without sounding repetitive, conjuring the vastness of nature and the power of the elements. Like nature, the music is powerful: at times peaceful and lightly glimmering with hope, at other times crushing and potentially devastating.

I’ve only given The Floating World a handful of listens so far, but once I get a copy of the album I’ll no doubt revisit it often.

Joseph James

Live Review: Mogwai at James Cabaret, Wellington

Mogwai James Cabaret Wellington Poster
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Mogwai

w/ Mick Turner
James Cabaret, Wellington
Friday 6 March 2015

The term “post-rock” suggests that the genre of music has evolved beyond standard rock. And for Glaswegian act Mogwai, this appears accurate. They have gone past the standard band formula of guitar, bass, drums and vocals, expanding their sound with the use of synths, 12 string guitars, multiple drums (both electric and acoustic), vocoder and violin. Electric and analogue sounds marry to create something unique.

For the most part there were five musicians on stage. Sometimes the keyboard player would play a third guitar. Touring member Luke Sutherland made an appearance for a handful of songs, fleshing out the sound more with his violin, or by singing, or playing some secondary drums.

The lights were an integrated part of the experience. There were three neon looking hexagons from the cover of Rave Tapes that pulsated and flickered. Backlights synchronised with the music cast the band members as dramatic silhouettes.

Mogwai songs have very gradual growth. They slowly build up with layers. A steady drumbeat, a repeated riff, another guitar fills the space and the keys take over the high-end. The wash and hum lingers and sweeps through.

Like the songs that gradually build up, the set got better as it progressed. People started to sway and dance as the songs became more interesting. Better recognised songs were received with whistles and cries of delight.

Image: Bradley Garner Photography.

Image: Bradley Garner Photography.

One of the more memorable parts was the set closing song, “Mogwai Fear Satan”. After six minutes of building up the song pulls back to light swells and an undercurrent drum beat. This lull in the song continues for a few minutes, before the band suddenly launches back into a frenzied feedback explosion. Many people jumped back in fright, just to laugh at themselves moments later.

One criticism is that the set was loud. I always wear earplugs at gigs to protect my hearing, but even so, it was excessive. Many people had fingers stuck in their ears, and I heard later that people had left because they couldn’t handle the volume.

Mogwai last came to New Zealand 16 years ago. This was their first time in Wellington. The venue was close to full, but not packed enough to make the place as stifling hot as it has been last few times I’d been there. Tonight was quite mixed, predominantly an older crowd (30+). They played for around 90 minutes, including a two song encore.

The set was loud and varied. The visuals were simple yet dramatic. There were quiet, drawn out sections and explosive, euphoric moments. The use of unconventional instruments made it more interesting.

After most songs guitarist Stuart Braithwaite would step forward to his microphone and meekly offer “Thank you, cheers” in his Scottish accent. On behalf of the audience, right back at you, Stuart.

 

Joseph James

The setlist

The set list

Album Review: Platonick Dive – Overflow

PLATONICK DIVE - OVERFLOW COVER
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As much as I love post-rock and associated instrumental music, I seldom venture into digital based music. I’m a purist that likes to listen to music played on instruments instead of computers. I know that some post-rock bands and lots of hip-hop artists I listen to are quite sample heavy, but I always prefer live instrumentation. For example, I’ve enjoyed seeing some hip-hop bands like The Roots and David Dallas (with his backing band The Daylight Robbery) far more than seeing other rappers that have DJs or backing tracks.

Maybe I need to get with the times. Many of New Zealand’s major current music exports (Kimbra, Lorde, Broods, Brooke Fraser) are all headed in that direction, but I’m not really interested most of that stuff.

So when I listened to Overflow, the forthcoming album from Italian four piece Platonick Dive, my opinion was quite divided. A lot of it sounds like 65daysofstatic to me – post-rock with a heavy electronic element. I don’t mind music like that, but it’s certainly not my preference. That said, sections of Overflow were really striking and caught my attention.

platonick dive promo 1

I’ve previously listened to the song “Træ” from Platonick Dive that featured on a Nothing But Hope and Passion compilation. This was off Platonick Dive’s first album “Therapeutic Portrait”. I liked the song but it isn’t a fair introduction to Overflow, because the second album is a change of direction for the band. This is a deliberate move. “We are in a continuous artistic movement”, their press release says, “the most dangerous thing you can do is to stay still”. This is a band that is ever changing, and always experimenting. Trying to push the envelope is one thing, but does it make the music convoluted when it’s heading in too many directions?

Not really. There is a lot of influences at play here, but it seems to work. The album is well produced. Parts reminds me of one of Platonick Dives’ contemporaries – electro/ambient outfit worriedaboutsatan. The music is crisp, deliberate, moody. And plenty of it is clearly electronic. The track “From Seattle To Berlin” is full of glitches and DJ style scratches, a feel that continues throughout the album.

The instrumentation is interesting. I am a drummer, so of course the excellent drumming and percussion stood out to me. Keyboards are quite dominant. There are all sorts of other sounds and instruments utilised, many of which come from a computer. I quite liked the part in “High Tide” that sounded like marimba or xylophone.

Some songs feature singing. The vocals on “Mirror” especially stood out to me. For a predominantly instrumental band, I suggest they have a serious rethink about their style. Hiding a voice as good as that is wasteful.

And of course the album includes the obligatory samples, like Maybeshewill would use in their early material. “Geometric Lace” features a sample about marijuana, and “Back Home Boulevard”  includes a quote about junkies, so I think it’s fair to say drugs influence the band in some way.

I feel like I’m a bit out of my element here because although it’s similar to some music I listen to, it’s at the same time quite different. I could allude to genres like electronica, trip-hop, dubstep, house… but I’m really not an authority on those matters. If I had to describe the songs “Above You” and “Reverb Nation” I’d have to use the phrase “beep boop boop”. Platonick Dive’s Facebook page categorises their genre as “Electronic Therapy With Feedback Explosions”, so I guess “beep boop boop BOOOOOM” would be more apt.

This is an album that I would expect to hear in a café. Background music that is a bit unusual and ‘arty’, but not something I’d chose to listen to at home. It is well crafted, and I enjoy parts of it, but I think at the end of the day I still prefer to listen to music that is actually played by people, more so than computers.

If you like post-rock and you’re not as uptight as I am about music being ‘real’ or ‘live’, then I’m sure you will enjoy Overflow.

Overflow releases on February 17th 2015

Album Review: Lights & Motion – Chronicle

Lights and Motion Chronicle deep elm cinematic post rock cover
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Deep Elm have once again proved themselves as a vital record label at the forefront of the post-rock movement by releasing Lights & Motions’ third album, Chronicle.

Lights & Motions’ Reanimation was my favourite post-rock album of 2013. (Nuet, from Deep Elm label-mates Dorena came a close second.) Chronicle follows on and helps to build upon the legacy of a much hyped, yet relatively new band.

Unfortunately many post-rock bands fall into the trap of sounding the same. You know the same old cookie cutter recipe: start quietly and slowly build up the music with swelling guitars and inspirational keys. Many bands succeed at doing this and it’s all fine and listenable, but with very little to set them apart from the multitude of other bands who sound just the same, especially seeing as there are no vocals in most regards.

Some people would suggest that Lights & Motion are one of these bands. The music may as well be purely soundtrack. But I think that the variety and quality of instrumentation is enough to make Lights & Motion stand out. It’s enough to keep me coming back to listen to the music again, at least.

Christoffer Franzén is the man behind Lights & Motion. Everything on the record is him. He’s a modern-day Mike Oldfield, capable on a wide array of different instruments. And he’s self-taught as well. That takes some dedication. He’s more than adept on the drums, guitars, keys, violins, and all the other instruments that feature on the album.

Lights & Motion was essentially started with the attempt to capture the sound of dreams and memories. Franzén was an insomniac, so used his sleepless nights to hone his musical skills into something productive. And it worked. Franzén has captured moods and feelings and recorded them with instruments. “Reborn” sounds sinister. “Northern Lights” is a tenderly picked interlude. “Paper Wings” is a delicate piano ballad. They all sound inspiring, wondrous, the stuff of dreams.

Chronicle sounds epic, expansive, cinematic even. Watch the clip for “The Spectacular Quiet” and notice how it could have quite comfortably fit in to a film like James Cameron’s Interstellar.

Listening to Chronicle is a transcendent experience. The listener gets transported somewhere new. Somewhere grand, on a major adventure. These songs contain a story, and the lack of vocals means that the stories are completely up to personal interpretation. My friend Ivo from Stereofox summed it up well, calling Lights & Motion “a magical and epic journey that transcends all describable feelings and sensation.”

I would be surprised if Franzén doesn’t start scoring big-budget movies anytime soon. Stylistically, he’s more like Rhian Sheehan than Hans Zimmer, but he clearly has enough talent required to write the music for any major Hollywood blockbuster.

Chronicle is available for download on bandcamp. And while you’re there, make sure to browse the rest of the Deep Elm discography

 

Joseph James