Meet Me in St. Louis are the latest addition to the growing and highly dominant U.K. post-hardcore scene. Million Dead, The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg, and bands like them have been creating a lot of attention with their fast paced seemingly random blend of pop-punk, hardcore and math rock. Meet Me in St. Louis is the most successful band to attempt this sound so far in terms of sheer originality. Combining Million Dead’s pop sensibility with The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg’s technical backing, Meet Me in St. Louis’ sound is basically pop songs broken down into ten second burst of energy that are strung together into three minute explosions. Where the band merely flirted with their music’s pop backing on their debut EP, “Variations on Swing” their latest releases sees them branching out into realms of electronica and more concise post-hardcore to create a much more rewarding, eclectic and dynamic sound.
Ghastly’s claim to fame is their transposition into standard post rock affair in the vein of Gregor Samsa. They aren’t really concentrating on crescendos but when they do they are beautiful (and feature beautiful people in the case of Ice Creaks guest from Mia Matsumiya) and they also aren’t really concentrating on huge waves of emotional catharsis. In a sense they’ve taken the sound Gregor Samsa orchestrated flawlessly on 55:12 and built upon it in vast ways.
Boris is often known for their "drone" metal but with the help of Michio Kurihara they decided to invest themselves into a realm of beautiful psych rock. Kurihara's presence is hugely impactive on why I think this record is so great, considering he is probably my favorite guitarist. This is a great album and I'd suggest it for people looking for something that meshes the old of classic rock with the new stoner rock scene.
So, what is Shels exactly? In my opinion it is one of the finest attempts to incorporate metalcore aesthetics into a progressive rock setting. Basically, they succeed where other bands have failed. They are able to be progressive without being overtly cheesy (like, say, Between the Buried and Me's "Alaska"), and they are able to be progressive without entering realms of unnecessary pretension (like the middle of Pax Cecilia's "Blessed are the Bonds"). Sure, I could throw out a list of comparisons to groups like Kayo Dot or Isis in hopes that some of their fans might streamline through this review and check them out, but Shels really doesn't embrace the arty atmosphere of either band. Everything on this album is meticulously arranged, but is also grounded in a solid base genre of metalcore. Essentially, I guess it is the best of both worlds; complete originality and full blown clich? Whatever is the key to Shels successful formula, it works and "Sea of the Dying Dhow" effortlessly proves that.
Exploding with a riff that sounds almost straight out of an Ennio Morricone composition, “All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone” certainly establishes itself as a record different from EiTS’s past work. While they aren’t building into layered soundscapes the same way they did previously, on the limited release, “The Rescue,” the combination of the ideas from that record and their past work is clearly shown on opener “The Birth and Death of the Day.” Other notable tracks are the brooding epic “It’s Natural To Be Afraid” and the depressing piano based “What Do You Go Home To?” Explosions in the Sky has clearly taken note of their flaws and with all of their effort tried to do something original with “All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone.” Adding touches of piano and improving on the stylings of their guitar playing has left the record feeling fresh. However, their search for stretching their sound does seem a little limited in the end; moments like the crescendo at 5:55 in “The Birth and Death Of The Day “ seem like they could easily be transferred back into songs found on their early releases. A sense of “I’ve already heard this” is certainly always present when listening to “All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone.”
Post metal with a touch of doom that is extremely original and disturbing. Fronted by the female lead singer of noise rock band Made Out of Babies, and featuring members from Red Sparowes, Pere Ubu, and The Fugees this album is an excellent array of great influences and great talent. Highly recommended!
Emotionless, yet highly infectious dance music. Kind of like post-rock without all the dynamics and sadness. It's really upbeat and it's really catchy, and it's a pretty good background record. Not something for "heavy listening" but "Classics" makes a great listen when driving or just smoking a few blunts.
An excellent south western American album that is almost perfectly executed. Conceptually based around the Mexican-American barrio in L.A. that was destroyed in the 1950s in order to make room for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ry Cooder lightly addresses the subject in stunning fashion. "Don't Call Me Red" and "3rd Base, Dodger Stadium" are both perfect examples of Cooder's ability to combine his heritage with America's own musical culture. Highly recommended and really can be appreciated by any fan of music.
