Danish, but out-of-this-world instrumental math-rock Obstacles have mixed and mastered a 7″ and are almost ready to put it out in Denmark on Red Tape. They’re still looking for a label outside DK. Compared to the old EP, the band sounds even more powerful — almost as amazing as their live shows. Also, they’re touring central Europe in September.
Their EP is available as a free download, that the band gets royalties for. Go fetch. Bears In The Yukon is both a beautiful post-rock album and a creative bundle of full flora guitar work. It rarely goes low-tempo, but instead has tons of interesting shifts.. almost earning them a math genre tag. And play it with the bass up, trust me.
Ohohoh, and this: Native are releasing their debut ‘Wrestiling Moves’ on Sargent House. ‘Ponyboy’ is already streaming on their myspace. And enjoy this promo video, too.
the New MoB Album
19 years after they broke up, Mission of Burma reunited for a few shows. It didn’t go as planned though, and that’s good thing. 7 years, 2 albums and a complete new generation of fans later, Mission of Burma 2.0 is still steaming full ahead.
The follow-up of Mission of Burma’s great album ‘the Obliterati’ will be released on the sixth of October and it’s called ‘The Sound, The Speed, The Light’. We can expect something different this time. As they say on the Matador Blog: “…the record is a departure from the pinned-needles roar of 2006’s The Obliterati. The new album sounds far more spacious and dynamic. It is more or less divided into 4 sets or suites of 3 songs. Each suite explores a set of moods or colors, across the usual dizzying array of lyrical topics, from alcoholism to fleshly concerns.”
Who is Mission of Burma? Check out our video section for our feature about the band with a big interview and live footage filmed at the Villette Sonique show last year in Paris.
Follow this link to listen/download the opening song ‘1,2,3, Partyy!’: http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/
http://www.missionofburma.com -
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Pinnacle Magazine visited the Villette Sonique festival again where we filmed bands like Jesus Lizard, Monotonix, Deerhoof, Duchess Says, Black Lips, Lightning Bolt and much more.
This is a crude edit to give a preview. The final vids are in high def.
We’re working on features (with interviews and live footage) of Lightning Bolt, Nisennenmondai and Duchess Says.
And there are more goodies on the way!
www.PinnacleMagazine.TV
Imperial China writes the following…
Our full-length album is done! Are you a label? Let’s talk.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support; we hope to have the record out this fall.
I’d sign them just to get my hands on the full-length… and dig this: Fago.Sepia is releasing a split in August on Japanese label Friend of Mine.
After a comeback tour in 2008, Polvo has fully reunited for a full-length, In Prism, which is coming on September 8th. New track is deeeeee-licious. Whereas I found them a bit dull and lacking in spirit and energy for their ATP show, I can only say the opposite for this track.
Oh, and no recent updates.. true dat. I’ll be back with loads of goodies as soon as vacation kicks in.
Just like last year Pinnacle Magazine paid a visit to Paris for the Villette Sonique festival. Unfortunately we have less interviews, but a whole lot of more live footage! Of whom you may ask? Well, the Jesus Lizard, Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof, Duchess Says, Sunn o))), Extra Life and incredible footage of Monotonix.
We also have established some contacts over there with other filmers, photographers and so on. It’s going to take some time to process and publish the material, but it will be online.
What can you expect? Live footage of Jesus Lizard from the moshpit (the singer basically jumped on us), the same for Monotonix (the singer actually did jump on us), interviews with Duchess Says and Lightning Bolt and much more.
So stay tuned!
Alright… this was mentioned in an earlier post, but new instrumental band on Hello Sir released their 30 minute debut last month! Hurray! It’s a duo consisting of guitar player Adam Joyce and drummer/keyboardist Brennan O’Brien, and judging from youtube, they look pretty cool live.. with or without the local drunken douchebag crowd. Being a duo, the sound could of course lack something, but TBC uses their setup to the optimal effect, special features being multitudes of lightly strummed, layered guitars, intoxicating shifts in volume and loads of reverb.. all done very coherently. You could easily draw a parallel to the initial two-man outfit of Russian Circles, that managed to bring about some of the hardest-hitting, super-focused, technical post-rock I’ve ever heard. TBC is much less metallic and mathy, though, but they manage just as well as Russian Circles to create a sound that reveals some impressive results when played at adequate volumes. This is both due to skilled, clear production and even more so, the intelligent structure of layers and the sonic spaces they each operate in.
The tracks on I’m The Spring are all quite post-rockish in the traditional sense: Instrumental, guitar, outbursts, buildups, slow-downs. But nowadays when these old methods don’t really work, and I find myself yawning at Mogwai, it’s quite a relief to see them used in a new setting, with shorter tracks and thus more compact excitement. On a few occasions TBC do slow down quite a lot, but it certainly doesn’t ruin the album and seems more of a natural break in the flow of the album than a cheap sentimental trick. Check out the opening track of the album below.. some of the best stuff I’ve heard this year…
Underpass Sunrise:
The Bronzed Chorus - I'm The Spring
Hello Sir, April 2009
This is what I’ve recently listened to from U.S. and found interesting.
The Reptilian
Released in March by Count Your Lucky Stars, The Reptilian gave a big boost to my hopes for finding good new music on emusic (also avail. on Itunes). Playing math in the style of Native and Antlers, it’s full of creative guitar-work and catchy rhythms, that set a cheerful mood.. together with concise titles such as “I’ll Ram My Ovipositor Down Your Throat and Lay My Eggs In Your Chest But I’m Not An Alien”.
Imperial China
I was late finding out about Aucan, and now I can say the same about Imperial China from DC. Method EP was released last year. At times it’s pumping and minimalistic like Battles and Aucan, but Imperial China can play with a heavier attitude than Battles and lighter, more organic sound than Aucan. Get the EP now, and we won’t wait long for the full-length:
We’ve just finished recording a full length album and will be mixing it over the next few weeks. As with the EP, Devin Ocampo is doing a splendid job of making us sound great. We hope to get a label squared away soon and get the album on the streets this fall.
You.may.die.in.the.desert
My initial reaction was that I didn’t need more post-rock at the moment, but this goes beyond post-rock with lots of interesting sounds and less focus on buildups and atmosphere. Bears In The Yukon (2008) is easy to get your hands on immediately on emusic and released on CD. Give it a listen. And they have another one coming up..
Little Kingdoms
Quiet, but full of melodic structure: Little Kingdoms from Pennsylvania deserves attention, because they have a unique style, playing something that could be much louder, adding acoustic guitar and chilling electronics. Their full Willow EP can be downloaded from their myspace.
Castevet
Released a brilliant demo preview of their full length, I Know What A Lion is, which is free btw. Melodic and easy to like with lengthy, intelligent tracks that moves the style back and forth between emo (largely due to the singer) and instrumental, melodic math.
Noumenon
Soon to release a split and playing at Chicago friends Castevet’s release party. Two yummy tracks on myspace.
Passe Montagne has a sound typical of 90s noiserock, especially Shellac. But their short, fast grind-like tracks are constantly changing between rhythms and riffs that make them sound skizo, like Don Cab or Hella. It’s a crazy energy shock, but just the kind of thing to put on if you need your hyperactive disorders cured. There’s even some hooks in there, so for a few seconds they’ll make you feel comfortable in their environment before once again shredding the rhythm and the melody. Like balancing on your toes.
Passe Montagne - Oh My Satan
Africantape, April 2009
