ech(((o)))es & dust

I tend to rant a lot about genre classification (see: anything I’ve ever written) and how needless it is most of the time. Thus, when I saw that Sheffield’s inFictions classified themselves as ‘post-progressive’ I got a little worried about [...]

Ever have one of those moments where you feel a string of songs on a certain album is so good that you don’t think you’ll ever be able to get past them and on to the rest of the record? [...]

Devin Therriault is hung up on love, apparently. There are so many albums written about relationships and heartbreak, and all that other stuff, that to stand out, an artist really must have something unique to say. Therriault may not be [...]

It’s tempting, when on the first listen of an eagerly-awaited album, to say that it’s the best thing a band have done. This sort of knee-jerk reaction works both ways: it can either hold up upon further listens; or it [...]

Given the recent turn for the worse with the weather and feeling like we skipped spring and summer and went straight back to autumn you need an album like ‘Keep Warm … with the Warm Digits’ to well, warm the [...]

The first 15 seconds of this record give no real clue about what’s in store. Neither do the next, very different 15. In fact, by the end of the 25-odd minutes the album runs you might not even be sure [...]

After listening to U.S. Christmas singer/guitarist Nate Hall‘s first solo release ‘A Great River’ it is clear Nate needs a hug. Nate said this release ‘helped me to get rid of a lot of bad dreams. Feelings that pulled me [...]

Having been away for 11 years, the anticipation of a new Beachwood Sparks’ album reaches its peak with the brushed symbols that start album opener ‘Forget the Song’. Then Chris Gunst’s soft vocal meanders in, and then the guitars amble [...]

Genres are a constantly changing. It seems like every week there’s a new pseudo-math-rock-hipster-beat-poet-dynamic-pop band kicking around throwing yet another adjective into the hyphenated melting pot. It’s gotten to the stage where you aren’t cool unless you think you’re doing [...]

Those of you following post-rock/post-metal/progressive rock are probably aware by now of the quality of bands and music coming out of Sydney. Living in the post-metal camp is three-piece Dumbsaint, whose new record, ‘Something That You Feel Will Find Its [...]

There is no mistaking that you’ve listened to something so full of piss and vinegar; vitriol and angst once the dying notes of ‘Clubfoot by Kasabian’ finish. Blitzkrieg pop by definition this is. This barnstorming opener is a sign of [...]

We all have bands we loved who split. This Et Al were one of mine, and the unexpected nature of the announcement of their break-up was made all the more shocking by the fact that they had released their best [...]

Bands that name themselves with the ‘hard-soft’ naming convention may do so to suggest the diversity of their sound. This concept fits perfectly for French rockers Papier Tigre who describe their music as ‘challenging punk [that] combines elements of experimental [...]

Torche have always been quite an anomaly in the rock scene, managing to throw fuzz-laden stoner grooves, off-tempo time changes and soaring melodies into the mix and come out with music that rides the perfect cusp between accessibility and mayhem. [...]

Edinburgh’s North Atlantic Oscillation have kicked up one hell of a metaphorical storm on ‘Fog Electric’, their second album. From its haunting synth foundations, to myriad samples and lyrics of being lost and found, this is an album whose leitmotif [...]

I find it slightly amusing that, to some, Anathema are still considered a metal band. They can’t seem to shake off their past, even though they haven’t produced music that could be described as metal of any sort in about [...]

Angry embers rupture through this seemingly unholy script, it meets the mood of solitude and unbalanced emotion. Incredibly heavy and thought provoking, making you crumble from inside leaving you with an impressive after thought which embeds itself in the listeners [...]

Haunting. Ethereal. Melodious – just three ways to describe Seluah’s ‘Red Parole’. After a 10 year absence the band return with a new album packed with guitar riffs, drum beats and vocals as well as the odd pleasant though admittedly [...]

Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown are dead; long live Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug’s boundless creativity. The former’s shifted his focus towards Handsome Furs, who released the predictably excellent Sound Kapital last year; the latter, meanwhile, quietly released a 5-song, [...]

Sleepy Sun hail from San Francisco, California and their sound is rooted in the psychedelic vibe of the area. While Sleepy Sun adhere to that vibe they also blend other genres into their music creating an infectious and deeply melodic [...]

You might be forgiven for sensing traces of that all too common formula for creating the perfect post rock album in Jet Plane‘s latest offering, ‘All The Static Stars’. On first listen, you can hear how faithful they are to [...]