EP Review: Far From Here – The Loss

Far From Here The Loss cover
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It’s the type of morning that only a place like Karori can put on. It’s cold. Not cold enough that I can see my breath, but certainly enough to warrant a few extra layers of clothing. Everything is grey. Between the concrete roads, the overcast skies and the dense fog, there is little colour to be seen as I walk to work. But the music I’m listening to keeps me in good spirits.

I’ll discuss the music in a minute, but first I’ll tell you a story to give you context.

Hamish Dobbie Far From Here promo shot

Image: Sam Blythe Photography

When I first met Hamish Dobbie seven years ago his favourite band was Dream Theater. We tried to form a band together at one point, but nothing eventuated from it. Later on down the track he joined some of our mutual friends as bass player for their hardcore band Declaration AD [My review of Declaration AD opening for Bangs is one of my favourite things I’ve ever written]. This was then followed by a string of other hardcore/metal projects, making Dobbie one of the busiest people in the local scene for a year or two.

But now he has tried his hand at a different style.

It’s almost clichéd – going from hardcore to acoustic. Dave Baxter from The Chase started Avalanche City. Dallas Green from Alexisonfire started City and Colour. Derek Archambault from Defeater started Alcoa. And then we have the many punk singers who feature on the Revival Tour: Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Jon Snodgrass, Dave Hause etc…

And Hamish Dobbie from the local hardcore scene started Far From Here.

His first release is a five track EP called The Loss – poignant pop music with a dash of electronica dance beats.

The EP has been a few years in the making. Dobbie started working as a youth worker in his last year at university, and recently switched to work in the mental health sector. Not easy jobs by any means.The Loss was written in the midst of inner turmoil, and as an attempt to put a language to the experience of suffering.

And rather than writing music in the vein of Terror and Advent, he turned to other musical influences like Broods, JOY, Bon Iver, and Imogen Heap.

It makes for nice listening. The titular opening track sets a tone of mourning through use of guitar and delay, not unlike something Explosions In The Sky would do. A dance beat slowly emerges before everything cuts out. It’s a delicate balance – the sad guitars and the uptempo beat – and although the two elements shouldn’t work together on paper, they somehow create something compelling radiates hope. Just as it seems to gain momentum, the song ends. I wish it was longer.

Two things can be learnt from this first song: first, Dobbie does dynamics well. And secondly, he absolutely nails the guitar tones on this EP.

Despite his best efforts, Dobbie is not the strongest singer. Nor does he pretend that he is. He recruits two friends to help him out in that department. Andy Hockey tackles a verse in “Distance”, and does well to mirror Dobbie’s aching. And Mimi Gilbert features in “I’ve Failed You”. Gilbert’s voice is a showstopper. She recorded it from her home studio in Portland, Oregon, and it took her less than an hour to record all her takes for that song. The vocal harmonies at the end of that track are my highlight of the EP.

If stunning guitar tone paired with Postal Service-esque beats sounds appealing to you, then give Far From Here a listen. If that doesn’t sell it to you, how does incredible vocal harmonies, sublime moodiness and brilliant production sound?

I can think of nothing better on a bleak, foggy morning like this.


Far From Here links:

Bandcamp: https://farfromherenz.bandcamp.com/

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

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/farfromherenz/tracks 

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ecTxAhzY04Dlh7p4fboeg 

 

Album Review: Hiboux – Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up

Hiboux Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up banner
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Local post-rock band Hiboux (pronounced ee – boo. The French word for owls) have worked hard to get to this stage of their career, cultivating a following as they wrote and recorded the songs on this, their first album, Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up.

They struck me as talented when I saw them open for Tortoise last year [Tortoise live review], and this début release has only cemented that opinion.

Before we start discussing the music, I need to draw attention to the title of the opening track: “East Of Seddon”. For those unaware, some of the more major New Zealand earthquakes in recent years have triggered – you guessed it – just east of the upper South Island town of Seddon. I adore the imagery that the title evokes. Does it indicate that Hiboux are at the epicenter of something big? That their music is earth-shatteringly good? Let’s find out…

The track starts of with some gorgeous harmonising guitars that riff together in tandem. Not like thrash metal riffing, but more elegant and leisurely. The two guitarists each deviate ever so slightly with their picking to keep the ostinato sounding fresh. The rest of the band joins in – bass and keys add atmosphere while the drums add urgency. The song meanders and changes – as you would hope from a nine minute epic – and the guitars split to each adopt different roles. But it’s those dual guitar lines at the start that really make this opening track what it is.

Most of the songs follows suit in much the same fashion. Repeated guitar riffs, band comes in, things start to expand. But this is not to say that the music is formulaic. The riffs are fantastic – musical and memorable. The drumming is sensitive – adding to the overall feel with finesse, but not overplaying.

Something that Hiboux excel at is creating memorable riffs without the need for heaviness. Or creating great sound without the need for effects (that I can tell. I hear little reverb, distortion, delay etc but I am not an expert on such things).  And I hate to focus on the guitars so much at the expense of the other instruments, but they really do stand out.

I always wonder how musicians manage to write and remember such long and complex songs. Ranges have a 24 minute song called “Night & Day“, and “Dominion” by Kiwi heroes Jakob rings in at just shy of half an hour. In a recent interview I learnt that Hiboux take months (or even up to a year) to write and refine their epic pieces. It makes sense when you listen to each track. Spontaneous music is great, but it is clear that these songs are not just ideas picked out willy-nilly from a jam session.

Hiboux Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up Band Pic

(Again, I need to go off-tangent here. Look at that photo! How cool is that shot? And, even better, the band is standing on the wall of old army magazine bunker ruins in Wellington, which was burnt down when bank robbers set alight a stolen van that they had parked inside. So much awesome in just one picture!)

Running a music blog is pretty cool, but I find that after reviewing so many post-rock albums it can be hard to come up with ways to discuss music that sounds so similar. Not so with Hiboux, who have done themselves proud with this release. Yes, it is undeniably post-rock through and through. But it also sounds fresh and innovative whilst sitting comfortably within the genre.

I am always stoked to discover great local bands who can sit comfortably beside their musical peers on a global scale, and with Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up, Hiboux have proven that they fit that description.


Command The Earth To Swallow Me Up is now available for download from https://hibouxband.bandcamp.com/ with a limited run of Digipaks available at shows.

Hiboux links:

Bandcamp: https://hibouxband.bandcamp.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiboux_band

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hiboux-official

 

Joseph James

Live Review: Chain and the Gang at Moon 1, Wellington

Ian Svenonius Chain And The Gang Moon Wellington
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Ian Svenonius’ Chain And The Gang

w/ Beatcomber and Hex

Moon 1, Newtown, Wellington

Friday 17 March 2017

The sad irony of being a music reviewer is that I spend less time seeking out new music these days, and more time simply listening to music that people submit to me to review. Cry me a river, right?

So sometimes I need people to push me out of that bubble and recommend things that I wouldn’t usually come across on my own.

My mate Sam invited me to a Cody ChussnuTT gig during my student days. I was coming off an all-nighter, having not been able to find the time to fit in writing an essay around work and showing up to lectures. I was spent. God knows how I was even able to stand upright, having been without sleep for such a long period. But I somehow made it to Bodega for the gig, and I was so glad I did. I went in having never heard a single bar of ChesnuTT’s music, and left a complete convert. It wasn’t the type of music I would usually listen to, but the musicianship, the interactions, the energy – it was all electrifying.

The Chain And The Gang show at Moon was very similar. A friend suggested I come when I caught up with him a few weeks ago, so I figured I may as well. I chose not to even look up the band. Sometimes going in fresh makes the experience even more exciting if the act is good.

And oh they were good!

Ian Svenonius was the circus ringman – the off-kilter MC leading preaching his counter-cultural gospel. Bearing a wild mop of hair and a dapper pinstripe suit, he commanded complete attention and demanded audience interaction.

His band, three younger women also wearing the matching pinstripe outfits, laid the basic rhythm that set the template. The music was a hybrid of raw garage and punk. The trio did incredibly well, considering that they hadn’t been an established line-up for too long. Plus they had to be on their toes, watching Svenonius closely to take cues for when to change-up.

Anna Nasty led the music with her basslines. It all built off that bass. She reminded me of Uma Thurman in a few of her Tarantino roles, with a dark bob of hair and a deadpan expression. Ramona Flowers also to mind – maybe it was a garage/punk connection? It was obvious that Nasty was the musical anchor of the band. She had a great voice as well, meaning that the music sounded better live at the gig than in Chain And The Gang recordings I’ve listened to since.

Ex-pat Fiona Campbell had returned to New Zealand to support the band from behind the drum kit. She synced in tight, helping to push the simple beats that propelled the night. And Francy Graham rounded off the music on guitar. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t hear much guitar in the mix under the dominant bass, but Graham did have a few solos that sounded good.

The musicians played tight, yet simple rhythm while Svenonius dictated the show’s direction.

His character was all over the place, standing high on the shoulders of the crowd, or coming in close and pushing himself around the masses at the front. It made me think back to when I saw Damien of hardcore act Fucked Up do the same when opening for Foo Fighters at Western Springs. Svenonius was unpredictable. At times, beckoning us in close to share an exclusive secret, and other times crying his message out loudly, and always punctuated with wild shrieks and yells. He gave small introductions to each song (“We have wanted to come to Wellington for a long time. You want to know why? Why not?”) before signalling the start of each with “Kick it!”

It was very self-aware, ironic, and even self-parodying. The gospel of oppression. Down with liberty! Up with chains! Celebrate censorship, and trashiness and lack of vitality. A very backwards political statement that made sense through reverse-psychology.

The highlight of the night was the song “Mum’s The Word”. I struggle to think of the last time I felt so much joy. I got completely sucked in. The band started off their beat as usual, but then brought it down to the point that the music had stopped and Svenonius was just conducting the audience and instructing us to sing a repeated mantra. I had been exhausted half an hour ago, and now I was possessed by this energy that had me dancing to the music and singing along with the crowd in some inexplicable cult ritual. I had caught something contagious from the primal music and freaky frontman.

Chain and The Gang. Wow.

It was something else, that’s for sure. Call me a convert!

Chain And The Gang Moon Newtown Wellington Set List

The set list

Live Review: Into Orbit – Unearthing Album Release Show

Into Orbit His Masters Voice Unearthing Album Release Show San Fran
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Into Orbit

w/ His Masters Voice

San Fran, Wellington

Friday 10th of February 2017

 

I feel guilty, but it has become common practice for me to start a gig off at San Fran standing on the deck outside. Beer in hand and inhaling the second-hand smoke from my fellow concert goers outside. I watch the passers-by and mix ambient sounds of Cuba street with the music coming from inside the venue. This time it was different. As I was conversing with my friend Jon we both suddenly stopped looked at each other with a blank stare. ‘Hey that sounds a bit like Sabbath‘ he says to me. ‘Or Zeppelin’ I replied with a heightened sense of curiosity.

Opening the door we move towards the stage with gusto. We are met by what His Masters Voice have come to dub The Devils Blues. A fitting title for their high-octane brand of music. As we stand in the center of the floor the sound surrounds us. A sound fronted by mournful wails reminiscent of the classic American soul. The crash of cymbals and driving bass with facial hair to match puts a giant smile on my face as the rhythm section are only a pair of cheap sunglasses away from ZZ Top’s legendary back row. Giving the rhythm just enough personal flair to give it a contemporary feel while staying true to the roots that took hold in the American South so long ago.

slowly but surely

His Masters Voice at San Fran. Image. Mathias Hallberg

It is a hard-fought battle, but slowly the crowd is being beaten into submission. More and more pour through the gates. One by one they are summoned to the dance floor by shrieking guitars. Carrying just enough gravel and grit to stand toe to toe with any Metal band that is foolish enough to take the challenge laid out by His Masters Voice.

As the set comes to an end I was feeling a bit too giddy. Obviously, I needed a beer and the bartender is glad to serve us up a couple of pints of the golden nectar. He would soon come to regret his decision for in my overly excited state I felt compelled to convince him of just how good the show was. The look of terror on his face earns a sensible chuckle. I slowly back away and leave him in peace.

Not one to disappoint Into Orbit step onto the stage and get straight to work, introducing us to their new baby, Unearthing. San Fran’s hall is filled with thundering drums and meticulously layered guitar. Into Orbit must be close to the top of the list of loudest bands that I have seen. So much sound is produced by just two musicians. Paul Stewart on the ever looping and layered guitar and Ian Moir manning the battery. Drawing a decent crowd with their virtuosic Prog Metal sound I am taken once again into their world joined by their ever growing fan base here in Wellington. Their story is told by everything from soft-spoken guitar melodies to full on sludgy heavy metal riffs. Always building and releasing tension in the room.

A successful album release show, sadly (or not) overshadowed by a world-class performance by the opening band.


Links

Into Orbit

His Masters Voice