Meet  Falling Stacks,  a 3 piece Dogcore/Noise-rock group from Bristol. But wait, what in the name of all that is music is dogcore anyway? Apparently, it’s a fusion of hardcore punk, screamo and eurodance which also goes by the self-deprecating, name of “shitcore”. Sounds promising right?  In the case of Falling Stacks, judging by the 3-tracks from their second EP, EP2, “shitcore” might actually translate as “prettygoodcore”.

Opening track ‘White Wild Hare’ begins with a demented scream which is always a bonus in my books. Followed by aimless drum beats, a slightly freaky, creeping, off key guitar ,the lead singer spends a fair amount of time shouting through the  overwhelming cacophony about “a beautiful… building.” Perhaps one of which if  this track was ever to be played inside, would actually turn to rubble!

‘View Of A  Lake’ follows, with weird and whacky senseless lyrics but  “we eat biscuits for tea”… I would guess at ones including some form of nut,… because, quite frankly, these guys are nuts.

Sonically the themes of distortion and syncopation prevail throughout the EP but the closing track ‘Hospital’ is a monster of a song , highlighting these techniques to the point that at parts the lack of direction sounds a bit like these guys have thrown a million amped up instruments down the stairs at the same time to see which reaches the bottom first! Overall though, the EP is deliciously boisterous, disorderly, filthy, experimental avant-garde at its best. 

Swans are an institution. That much is already for certain. Sure they may have been absent for thirteen years of their thirty year lifespan, but their legacy was already highly influential. It is hard to think of any other band that has had such a huge impact upon extreme, experimental music over the last three decades. Boredoms, Godflesh, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Neurosis and Tool are just some of the bands that would probably be radically different if it was not for the influence of Michael Gira’s uncompromising approach to his work. Even Kurt Cobain listed ‘Young God’ as one of his favourite records.

Of course, Swans have changed a lot in that time, almost out of recognition were it not for the same ingredient that has always separated them from every other act on the planet; the sheer incomparable power of their work. Whether in their early industrial phase, their mid-period folk rock or their later excursions in drone and post-rock esque directions, Swans have always sounded genreless and peerless. Nobody else sounds like Swans, but more importantly Michael Gira is one of the few that recognises that the unique monolithic power his band holds is a direct result of their refusal to play by the rules that almost every artist in the world abides by.

As such, the varied approaches taken by the artists gathered at London’s Koko to celebrate the band’s thirtieth anniversary, at the first Mouth to Mouth Festival, should be of little surprise. Liz Harris’s solo Grouper project, first on the bill, could not be much further from the intense volume that Swans live shows are known for. She is as quiet as can be. Her vocals are inaudible. There are just waves of ambient noise emanating from her guitar and her cassette tapes. It’s stunning on record, but the hush it brings to Koko is even more enthralling. Tonight Xiu Xiu also take on a quiet approach. Jamie Stewart appears alone with his guitar singing songs about god that he didn’t write. Between songs he glances up to the heavens. His apparent lack of comfort at even being present speaks volumes about the pent-up passion he exudes through renditions of Roy Acuff’s ‘Wreck on the Highway’ and Woody Guthrie’s ‘Lonesome Valley’.

Ben Frost’s set is where the volume kicks in. Brutally loud, aided by two drummers, the Australian electronic experimenter provides an ear shattering set that leaves most attendees in a stunned silence. His music remains texturally fascinating even when delivered at the immensely punishing noise levels it is today. He does mean that, when Mercury Rev’s Sound Tettix Wave Ensemble arrive to soundtrack Albert Lamorisse’s ‘The Red Balloon’ they seem a little lightweight, but they actually do a fantastic job of providing a suitably subtle, but nonetheless sonically expansive accompaniment to a classic piece of cinema.

What can I possibly say to express what happens when Swans eventually take to the stage as headliners? Of course, despite the best efforts of tonight’s uniformly excellent supports, they remain in the shadow of this most awe inspiring of bands. The thing that most people simply do not understand about this band is that they are a force not of anger but of sheer joy. It’s a set that affirms this in some style. Over the course of two hours, mostly consisting of new (and as yet unreleased) material, Gira leads his band through music that, in many ways, is disarmingly simple but captures more about the human condition than it is possible to describe. For devotees seeing this band is like going to church. It’s like the first time you realise you have a direction in your life. It’s like understanding purpose of it all for the first time in your life. It’s astonishing.

Yet, it is not hard to understand why, for the vast majority of people on the face of this planet, it would be entirely devoid of meaning. Swans are, by their very nature, extremely obtuse. The huge dissonant slabs of noise that light up ‘To Be Kind’ or the mechanical repetition of ‘Coward’ would be incomprehensible to most, but then isn’t that true of any faith? For faith is an individual, esoteric concept. I freely admit to being wholly unable to adequately express why the way that Swans play speaks to me on the level it does. All I can say is that, like some people believe in heaven and eternal life, I find myself believing ever more in the life-changing sounds created by a fifty-nine year old man from New York and the musicians he chooses to accompany him. Whether that will mean anything or not to anyone I cannot tell, but it means a hell of a lot to me, that much I know for sure. 

There has always been a musical division in Scotland between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. Or that is how I experience it as a non-Scot and having played in an Edinburgh based band myself for years. Glasgow gets a lot of the touring bands, has better venues, later gigs, more bands, bigger crowds etc. So, when a band such as Die! Die! Die! come over from New Zealand to play on a Friday night in Edinburgh you don’t think twice to come along. Especially when the support bands are United Fruit (from Glasgow) and local post-punkers Black International. You don’t care that it’s a Good Friday and you have family over from the Netherlands for the weekend, as was the case for myself.

The night kicked off early at 7.45pm on the dot with Black International, who helped organising tonight’s gig. Most Edinburgh venues have a 10pm curfew, so people need to show up early and luckily for Stewart on guitars and vocals and Craig on the drums, there was already a reasonable crowd to witness their 2-piece assault on the eardrums. It always surprises me how much noise a 2-piece band can make, and Black International are no exception. Aside from some technical guitar issues and at times a visibly unhappy Stewart they played a solid set. Craig’s infamous drum face is always a pleasure to observe. He’s a brilliant drummer, providing a very jazzy style to the overall post-punk sound of Black International. Their set was a short one, but we were treated to 2 new songs ‘The Sky Is Falling In’ and ‘A Gilded Palace’, which will be released as a 7” single through Electric Company Records later this year. They also played ‘A Million Mouths’, which is the opening track of their great album In Debt and 2 more unreleased tracks ‘In The Sun’ and ‘Shining Swords’, after which Stewart angrily chucked his guitar on the floor as the Wee Red Bar doesn’t have a stage. It wasn’t his best night, but I still thoroughly enjoyed them!

Next up were United Fruit, which are one of my favourite alternative noise rock bands in Scotland. I’ve seen them live a few times now and you know you are always treated to a dynamic and extremely tight set. United Fruit’s rhythm section with Marco on bass and Ross on drums is a solid machine pounding away through the set, and guitarists Iskandar and Stuart share the vocal duties while working themselves in a sweaty state by some intense guitar playing, singing and moving uncontrollably at the same time. Their set mainly consisted of songs from their last album Fault Lines, such as album and set opener ‘Kamikaze’, ‘Liar’, ‘Go Away, Don’t Leave Me Alone’, ‘Confuse Her Now’, ‘Dust To Light’ and final song of the set ‘Red Letter’. Beside these songs they played crowd favourite ‘Push It’ of their first EP Mistress, Reptile Mistress! and a brand new track called ‘Nightmare, Recovery’, which is a brilliant track and just makes me wish for them to release a new album again! Apparently they’re working on it and I can’t wait to hear it as the this new song sets some high standards.

Lastly on the bill were the New Zealanders Die! Die! Die!, whose musical style can be described as post-punk alternative guitar noise, and thereby fitting in just perfectly after Black International and United Fruit. They played with a lot of energy, and great catchy guitar hooks, snarling vocals and most importantly an amazingly steady rhythm section. Drummer Michael Prain seemed to be in his own rhythmic zone throughout the gig and bass player Michael Logie steadily plugged away on his bass guitar. Guitarist/vocalist Andrew Wilson was something else all together though. He seemed to have troubles standing still and continuously danced around his little area between the mic stand and the amps. More than once he created a feedback loop by placing his guitar against his amp and grabs his mic to then go into the crowd, whilst Michael and Henry continued to play a repeated thumping rhythmic loop. Besides songs of the new album Harmony, such as ‘Trinity’, they played older songs ‘Sideways Here We Come’, ‘Blinding’, ‘A.T.T.I.T.U.D.’ (all from their album Promises, Promises), ‘Wasted Lands’ (from their album Form) and a new song called ‘Trigger’. I’m not even sure if I have all these songs right as there wasn’t a setlist for me to take home.

All in all it was a brilliant gig with 3 blinding sets from 3 amazing bands. They all showed that it is possible to have a great gig in Edinburgh and the good-sized crowd certainly helped. What made it even more memorable was the random Australian bloke I bumped into at the merchandise table. I forgot his name, but let's call him Bruce or Shane. I initially thought he was with one of the bands but he told me he was in Edinburgh for work and he picked up a copy of The List magazine to see what was on that night and he ended up at the Wee Red Bar. Well, he couldn’t have picked a better night in Edinburgh! Rock on!

Credits: video footage by Bruce Cowie.

Music Festivals...they're everywhere these days. The once ubiquitous summer event now seems to have taken over every season of the year. From the gigantic corporate bashes such as Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury through to more esoteric events like Beautiful Days or ATP there is something for everyone. Whatever your taste in music, the annual hunt for luminous wellies and camping utensils has become a rite of passage for any discerning music fan. One could even accuse it of becoming the ultimate setting for the middle class scenester, but that debate is for another day. A more positive direction to take the discussion in arose recently, when I met up with Neal Thompson, organiser of FOCUS Wales, a festival on the fringes which is slowly growing into one of the premier events in the welsh music calendar.

The event takes place in Wrexham on the North Wales border, where there has been something of a local scene renaissance in recent years. Various promoters have worked hard to bring a sense of community to the musicians, as well as offering an increasing number of gigging opportunities. The upshot of this is that some attention has drifted over from the music business with bands like Gallops and Golden Fable grabbing headlines. It was, perhaps, only a matter of time until a festival arrived...

(((o))): Can you give me a bit of background behind Focus Wales. What was the initial impetus? What has happened in previous years?

Our first FOCUS Wales took place in May 2011, was held in two venues and had approximately 700 visitors over two days. In 2012 over 90 acts performed across eight stages. There were two days of conference events took place and the event was attended by 1500 people!

The original, and ongoing idea, was to create a national showcase for contemporary music from Wales. This year we have over 100 acts performing, 50 + delegates attending from around the world and we are aiming to attract 2-3000 visitors.”

(((o))): How does the festival fit in with others? Was there a specific purpose?

We wanted this event to have more of a practical purpose for the performers involved, as opposed to it just being lots of fun for everyone attending for a weekend; which I am reliably informed it is, by the way! We wanted to create and develop a high profile showcase for Welsh music makers to perform in front of the world’s music industry.

(((o))): This idea of a showcase for the music business is further extrapolated by one of the more original features of the festival, its “focus” for want of a better word on the conference aspect...

Yes, the conference element has always been an integral part of the plan for FOCUS Wales. We want these events to be of practical use and benefit for all those taking part and also to create an environment where key music industry folk are accessible and available to the performers and business owners in one place over the three days.

These conferences take place over the Festival programme and this year features guest speakers such as Michael Rother (Can, Neu) and John Robb (Louder than War). It is an integral part of the experience as it closes the third wall between artist and suit with hopefully, contacts being made and then built upon.

(((o))): It has a similar sort of set up as SWN and SXSW, in that it takes place in multiple venues rather than one big outdoor place. Were these the model for you? SWN obviously also takes place in Wales so do you see yourself trying to compete with SWN in particular or would you look at it as a sort of sister festival?

By the nature of FOCUS Wales, we’re set up to provide a platform that all aspects of the industry can use and share as well as the bands. Our position in the annual events calendar means we’re set up ideally to promote the rest of the events happening in the year. We have certainly taken influence from other events such as SXSW, NXNE in Canada and Liverpool Sound City, which are all industry focused festivals – but we also offer a platform to cooperate with other events like this. This year for example we are hosting a SWN stage at FOCUS Wales on Saturday afternoon.

(((o))): This year’s line-up has plenty of Echoes and Dust favourites like Gallops and Golden Fable, as well as appearances from some of premier Welsh musicians such as John Lawrence, Gulp and even Charlotte Church! It’s quite an eclectic line-up this year. Do you have a specific audience in mind when choosing artists?

We want to be as representative as possible and have as broad an appeal as possible within what we do. Music is for everyone and we want this festival to be as inclusive as possible so hopefully we’ve catered for a wide variety of tastes with this year’s line-up.

(((o))): Do you ever worry about the possibility of over saturation in the festival market place?

I guess there is saturation of certain kinds of festival. We’re quite happy to be the only dedicated, industry focused showcase in Wales and that is what sets us apart and also allows us to offer a platform to promote the other great events happening in Wales throughout the year.

(((o))): What are your hopes for the future of Focus Wales?

We’re supported by Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government through Major Events Unit and PRS for Music Foundation, which means we are definitely going to be around for the next few years. The plan, and our job, is to make FOCUS Wales bigger and better every year.

Good news then, check out the website. Buy yourself a ticket and try something a bit different this festival season. Echoes and Dust will be there bringing in reviews and interviews with the bands and people behind the event has it happens but there can be nothing like experiencing the real thing. In these days of failing businesses, just maybe this is one that has found a winning formula and can thrive. 

After years of hoping and the persistence of Bird's Robe Records and the band themselves, Australian fans finally got their first chance to see instrumental rockers This Will Destroy You on Australian soil, on a school night in Brisbane. The floods stayed away as the Texan quartet brought a mix of old and not-so-old favourites to a smallish but dedicated and attentive crowd.

Arrows

Opening the night was Brisbane indie band Arrows with their brand of jangly shoegaze guitar, meandering melodies and unobtrusive vocals. The songs were solid, well played, and different enough from the headliners to whet the appetite for a night of quality guitar rock while keeping the sounds fresh.

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving are soon to set off on a tour of Europe, and deservedly snagged the support slot for the TWDY tour in the run-up. Their piano-led rock goes off like a powderkeg on stage and fans are always kept satisfied with some new angles in these complex and intense compositions. The familiar opening keys of 'Throw Us to the Wind' marked the start of a five-song set that showed why you don't forget a TToL performance, with exactly the opposite amount of energy and animation as a J Mascis gig. As the opener wound up with a few screams into the crowd from pianist Ron Pollard, they rolled straight into the beautiful and solemn '...And Sever Us From the Present', bringing the temperature down a notch.

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving

A change of style saw the mathy new 'Dance Before You Die' from their new EP which was of course impossible to keep beat to despite the effort of many brave souls, followed by '(quakes)', also off the EP and as the name suggests full of reverb and general noise. The set was rounded out with the dynamic and moody masterpiece 'They Found My Skull in the Nest of a Bird' from their debut album. If they play like this in Europe they're going to create a storm as intense as their crescendos.

Despite no evidence the edge of the stage was electrified the crowd gingerly approached in preparation for the main act but mostly kept a safe distance, some ironically taking up a spot in front of the speakers. For the band it was clearly all about the music as without ceremony the slow drone and opening guitar notes of ‘A Three Legged Workhorse’ signaled their recognition that there was some catching up to do here in the land of the Sydney funnelweb spider. As the first crescendo pumped masses of air into the crowd there was a sense of relief – the relief you get when you know that the anticipation you built up inside over the last few weeks will actually be met.

This Will Destroy You

'There Are Some Remedies Worse Than the Disease’ was up next and formed the perfect bridge to the more recent intense and emotional drone of ‘Black Dunes’, while ‘Burial on the Presidio Banks’ treated us to some more of that wonderful tone of a Rhodes Eighty-Eight piano. In the days of monster pedal boards and regular guitar changes TWDY continued their lesson in keeping it simple in their extraction of sonic bliss.

‘Glass Realms’ and ‘Communal Blood’ took the crowd back into the long, dark tunnel, dripping with tension and despair. Although a little shy the crowd was here to listen and gave in to the hypnotic trance, but before everyone got too far down, the brilliant ‘Quiet’ and “They Move on Tracks of Never-ending Light” released them from the spiral.

Drummer Alex Bhore had seemed preoccupied with some equipment on the ground next to him but guitarist Jeremy Galindo now explained that it was a tech fault they had just managed to fix. It meant they could give us those glitchy sounds needed for ‘Grandfather Clock’, which was not on the set list and created a glimpse of lightness. Not many bands will keep plugging away to get gear working for just one short song when no one would be any the wiser, but the sweet morsel was a precious gift.

This Will Destroy You

The brilliance and emotion of final song ‘Little Smoke’ concluded with the band sneaking off stage to loops of reverb and feedback, as is the trademark of their ilk. At this point the crowd got a little confused. As is always the case, applause through the set had been sparse and confined to clear breaks– after all no one wants to be the fool who claps during the quiet bit of a post-rock tune (been there)- and the instruments were still making some noise. 

Luckily the guys took pity on us and after a couple of minutes of awkward silence from the crowd, This Will Destroy You came back on and took the night home with ‘Threads’, thereby covering all the favourites except perhaps for ‘The Mighty Rio Grande’. But let’s not split hairs - on Tuesday night the glass was not just half full but overflowing.

So I guess you could say there was a flood after all.

Say what you like about the Catholic Church, and there are many differing views, but they know how to put on a show – thousands huddled in the dank of Rome waiting for a white plume of smoke from a makeshift chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. They are masters of suspense and ceremony.  Oneida manage to pull off the same effect without a Michelangelo daubed ceiling and with only minimal props.

They, along with the Church, inhabit their own hermetically sealed universe impervious to trends and outside pressures as their long career proves. Their gig in the angular confines of Corsica Studios is long and the build of energy is both jerky and jovial. We’re treated to ninety minutes of ramshackle post-punk prog with the massively repetitive ‘Sheets of Easter’ starting us off.  Words quickly cease to mean anything and the music takes over.

After an abortive start, “we’re not sure what you’re here for is the same as what we’re here for.” Oneida get it together, “we’ve been playing the blues together for sixteen years” then manage one song before there’s another mishap: a broken snare drum. Calls go out for a replacement amid the band’s Airplane! in-jokes. A new snare is secured from somewhere and the band return to their act of alchemy. Ear prodding dub dissolves into electronic meditation and it becomes clear that Oneida’s bodies and equipment are more likely to give up before their imaginations do. 

For a working band of sixteen years, Oneida are still remarkably vital with Kid Millions leading the charge with his endlessly clattering lead drum playing.  ‘Up With People’ flaunts the bands duality: equal parts Sabbath and kosmische; they’re pagans with eyes on the cosmos, like Crazy Horse with a science degree. At times the complex jams that form the latter part of the gig lose the more distracted parts of the crowd but overall Oneida deliver their distinctive genre-trotting undulating set with aplomb and good humour. Like the masses at the Vatican, Oneida’s fans leave feeling re-energised, their faith intact.

2011’s The Octopus represented a huge step forward for Amplifier. After two albums of trippy heavy rock, the Manchester band embraced their prog leanings for a two hour opus. As brilliant as that album is, it can be a struggle to take in at one sitting, just logistically, never mind musically. Echo Street can be seen as their reaction to The Octopus - more concise and direct, it loses none of its predecessor’s grandeur and delivers some of their best tracks to date.

Reflected by its title, Echo Street is the sound of a band learning from its past, revisiting its origins but feeding these data into something new. Several of these songs have been modified from jams in the early ‘90s, years before they released their debut. As leading light Sel Balamir puts it, they have been “put through the Amplifier prism”. The results are mesmerising and, in some instances, surprising.

The slowburn of the opening track, ‘Matmos’, becomes a raging bonfire over its eight minute duration. Immediately this sounds like classic Amplifier but with a fire in their bellies to keep forging forward. The loose, improvised beginnings of a track like ‘Extra Vehicular’ imbue the music with an organic flow. Balamir describes it as one of the band’s “journey” tracks. Surrender to the wave and it will send you crashing and breathless onto the land with its stunning denouement. 

By contrast, the middle section of the album is dominated by more song-based material, often employing acoustic guitars. ‘Where the River Goes’ has had me reaching for the repeat button on several occasions while the cinematic ‘Paris In The Spring’ has a latter-day Marillion feel. Initially this quieter side of Amplifier was a little jarring after the bombast of The Octopus but subsequent listens have revealed the songs’ gentler charms and intricacies. Most importantly they represent a band that is self-aware enough to not retread its footsteps.

This is easily the most diverse album Amplifier have released so far. Seemingly by echo location they have probed into their history and uncovered several new and intriguing directions as a result. This will prove to be an extremely important album in their development as they have created a number of possible futures for themselves while retaining the DNA of those formative years.

1927’s ‘Sunrise’ is perhaps one of the most intriguing films of the early twentieth century. Directed by the influential expressionist German F. W. Murnau, it was one of the first films ever to feature a soundtrack, yet the original score to the film rather negated the brooding tone provided by its visually arresting direction and editing. No wonder then that drone superduo KTL (Steven O’Malley from Sunn O))) and Peter Rehberg, aka. Pita) have decided this grainy black and white cinematic curio is ripe for a re-soundtracking at their hands.

To describe their aural addition to the film as ‘ominous’ would be an understatement. For the vast bulk of the ninety-five minute movie KTL’s presence is one of the understated drone ambience. There’s none of the torrentially loud guitar work for which O’Malley is best known and there is little in terms of obvious musical reference points to grab hold of. Instead there is just a blanket of noise, a blanket that fits perfectly with the often disturbing visuals provided by Murnau.

‘Sunrise’ is often considered a landmark, especially in terms of its cinematography, but where its real power lies is in its very basic plot. Unnamed man is persuaded to try and kill his wife by a woman visiting his rural village from the city. Unnamed man and his wife go on a boat trip together. Unnamed man ends up chasing his wife across the city… The lack of humanisation granted to each character (none of which are named) makes their obviously stilted behaviour all the more gripping, and the lack of clear instrumentation provided by KTL only emphasises this all the more.

It is not until the conclusion that KTL really let rip. The film ends with a shot of the sun rising into the sky, yet this visual is not not allowed the space with which to soak up positive energy by O’Malley and Rehberg. The undefined noise from Rehberg’s electronics are finally joined by huge swathes of guitar so that as the picture fades for the final time all that is left is the blunt aural power of O’Malley’s famed guitar tone. This not only dramatically changes the context of the film’s conclusion but places it into a darker place than even its director is likely to have intended, but then, such is KTL’s propensity for genuinely mood altering music. With their addition, ‘Sunrise’ is even more of a cinematic landmark than it has ever been. 

Okay we all know And So I Watch You From Afar (or should do), they've stood out from the crowd since I first heard them. Forever compared and tagged with other instrumental acts. For me I came to think of them not as "Instrumental" just a damn phenomenal band. All Hail Bright Futures sees them re-write the script and if Gangs was a step away from confines of genres, this is a gigantic leap

All Hail Bright Futures comes after a period of mini crisis for the group. They parted ways with guitarist Tony Wright, enlisting former Panama Kings man Niall Kennedy as his replacement. Also they spent their longest time ever off the road due to a member requiring surgery. This prompted them to have to make the potentially embarrassing request to fans for donations to keep the band ticking over. Not to mention a quickly dealt with leak of the album.

All that is in the past however, and All Hail Bright Futures has its eye keenly on what's to come. And fittingly the title says it all, the overal feel of this album is positivity and fun. They've made a bold shift in style and incorporated never heard before elements into the sound. More vocals than ever before, experimentation with various new sounds and a more slick feel to the production. This is a futuristic eclectic mix that may take some by surprise, while also capable of winning many new fans.

Initially it took me off-guard, but even Gangs took me a while to fully wrap my head around at first. Some may wonder why they've tweaked the formula. For me I think it’s a refusal to play it "safe" or stand still for too long. I'm all for evolution, especially when it sounds so damn good.

Having said all that, don't panic; it’s not a total departure. What many love about ASIWYFA is riffs by the bucket-load, energy and infectious songs. You get that times 1000 here, and more.

The most familiar sounding songs 'Big Thinks Do Remarkable' 'Like a Mouse' and ‘Ambulance’ feature plenty of riffs that twist and turn Johnny Adger's thick bass tones and Chris Wee's pounding rhythm. The former is the first to introduce actual vocals with the warm refrain. It also includes head spinning riffs and a glorious mosh-down (like a hoedown but moshier) section. While the latter features a cheer leader style chant over futuristic punk riffs. These are going to go down a storm live, and try listening without wanting to pogo round the house.

Songs like 'Ka Ba Ta Bo Da Ka' and 'The Stay Golden' are like nothing ever heard before from ASIWYFA. The former features cut-up acapella samples and handclaps, it’s like Flying Lotus remixing Battles and completely infectious. Throughout All Hail Bright Futures Rory Friers uses some gloriously bizarre effects, the riffs and sounds at times make me think he may have some form of time travelling device. 'The Stay Golden' begins with a funky cow-bell (more cow-bell!) and Atari on acid melodies before a spine-chilling vocal refrain drops. The track culminates in euphoria inducing rhythms and horns, seamlessly blending into 'Rats on a Rock'. Riffs crash and collide in mesmeric wonder, before the headfuckery of steel drum effects and dub vibes leaves you wondering what the hell is going on. Strings and vocals combine until more riffs knock you sideways before you've had time to think. The third part of this trilogy (like ‘Homes’ on Gangs) is the blissful chill-out vibes of 'Trails...'.  The trio of mind bending tracks is truly stunning stuff.

Despite the new approach, there are plenty of typical ASIWYFA moments of wonder that have you reaching for re-wind here. Some of them are full songs, incorporating jaw dropping sections. 'Mend and Make Safe' is one of them. A classic in the making, its flute solo over a Dj Shadow style breakdown is astounding. Riffs mixed with handclaps and more melody than humanly possible making it a joyous experience form start to finish. It’s a re-occurring theme on All Hail Bright Futures euphoria and anthems abound, its more air-punching and shirt stripping off than anything they've done before.

Album closer 'Young Brave minds' is evidence of this. With a rhythm that's like a cross between We Will Rock You and We Care a Lot. This is another epic sounding album closer they make a habit of. There is so much to take in on All Hail Bright Futures it is an album that will have you coming back to constantly. Probably finding a new favourite track each time!

All Hail Bright Futures is a new chapter in ASIWYFA recorded output. The future is bright, the future is And So I Watch You From Afar. All Hail.

Pre-order your copy now, from Sargent House, also available is an iTunes version featuring two bonus tracks. ASIWYFA will be on tour (probably forever) with details available here.

So, I may need to preface this with a disclaimer: many of you will have already seen these bands, but as a proud antipodean my opportunities are a touch more… limited. When All Tomorrow's Parties announced this particular line-up of events, I was all over it, throwing cash at every website emblazoned with an ATP logo. The following is an attempt to re-create some of the magic I experienced—it may work, may not! Warning, results may vary.

On a balmy Melbourne evening, every neck-beard descended upon the Forum Theatre; probably Melbourne's best live music venue to see the mighty Godspeed You! Black Emperor (hereafter referred to as GY!BE). This is a band that I had given up hope of seeing live.  Sure, when they started playing shows in 2010 in the UK and USA I got excited, but what were the chances of them playing in Melbourne? Maybe in 2000-2002, but now? Nope. So I watched from afar and shook my hands at every blog post singing their praises, furiously listening to 'Lift Yr Skinny Fists…' as I read reviews of shows I couldn't go to—but then, the majesty of ATP occurred and GY!BE graced us with their presence. And WHAT a presence!

GY!BE took the stage in their usual understated fashion as the house lights dimmed, leaving their preferred red spots from above as the only light, apart from the projectors. It's this anonymity that adds to; not detracts from the music as you realise that everything they do is carefully thought out, planned, and structured. This is a deliberate band, operating within their own carefully laid out rules. And with muted red lights leaving maximum retinal space for the projections; as Efrim himself says: "It's about putting the whole into context.”

As the opening lilt of 'Hope Drone' rang out across the venue, you could've heard a pin drop—smooth atmospherics, static, violin, a double bass, and some wonderfully mixed cymbals providing a high end sizzle—but it wasn't until 'Mladic' began, that the band really hit their stride. When the kick drum finally came in the sound was huge, providing an excellent counter to the guitar and sweeping violin runs. It surprised me actually. I've listened to them a lot and I play violin, but seeing just how much Sophie plays on each track was fantastic. Normally violin in rock bands is almost an afterthought; sonically shut out by guitars, but not here. No, the violin almost leads the tracks more than the guitars, providing a different take on a well-worn genre.

I'll never get sick of seeing a violin run through so many pedals; it makes my inner music nerd squee with delight. 'Mladic' also gave the band the opportunity to demonstrate how the new material sounds – and it is great. The climax of 'Mladic' was a big, barrelling rock-out that seemed to rival Krautrock's driving minimalism, but with GY!BE's ethereal qualities.

That large rock-out led into 'Behemoth', where we were treated to the largest major chord progression/resolution of the night.  I'm a sucker for a big melodic rock out, but the way that they managed to resolve a 10+ minute song from a minor key into a major was nothing short of brilliant, and the smiles around me seemed to indicate this. This was a band in full flight with an audience of die-hard fans who all knew the material and were genuinely happy just to be there, seeing something they never thought would happen.

And then it was into 'The Sad Mafioso'; a fitting way to round out the show. This track demonstrated why GY!BE are superb on an album, but an order of magnitude better, live. There is simply no contest. I actually thought they would struggle to mimic the recorded sound, but it's the other way around. GY!BE live has so much more nuance, sonic variation, and quite frankly, balls.

So all in all, a fantastic show. It was an absolute pleasure to witness what was definitely a 'bucket list' gig for me. Seeing such an important band in such an important venue for Melbourne also made it a little more special, and the rest of the crowd seemed to be aware of this as it was easily the nicest crowd I've seen at The Forum. Great night, superb music, great people.

And I get to see it again tomorrow. Spoilt.

Humanfly have recently released their second album (Awesome Science, Brew Records) and, I think it’s fair to say, executed one of the most striking musical evolutions at the same time, delivering an incredible slice of progressive space rock / metal that we are confident will be up there with 2013’s best come the end of the year. We took the opportunity to speak to drummer Dave Jones to find out more about how it all happened.

(((o))): While coming up with the questions for this interview, I canvassed a few of our writers, my favourite was this one from Phil: “Why are they making my brain ooze out my ears?”

I have no idea. It probably seems like a lot to take in on first listen but I feel I can't really give you a solid answer for this I'm afraid! 

(((o))): So, was the change in direction (from their previous album Darker Later) a conscious choice and done purposefully or did it evolved naturally?

It's a little of both. It was a conscious decision in that we knew we wanted to do something different with this album compared to the previous ones, and that we wanted to display more influences outside of the ones we were known for. Also, the nature of this band is to keep pushing forwards, so in that respect it's pretty natural. 

It's no different to anything in life in that you're constantly moving forwards on a daily basis and exploring what else is out there.

There will always be a thread running through anything you do that connects you to where you were before, but things need to keep moving forwards if they're to remain interesting for the people playing the music and to the people hearing it. 

(((o))): Musically, what inspired the change?

A number of different things, but primarily it's just to keep things interesting and to challenge ourselves. 

Musically there were definitely certain albums that we were all into during the period of writing, some of which we'd been listening to for years but that we only started to acknowledge as influencing us during that time. We were all really digging albums like Inner Mounting Flame by Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, whilst also listening to albums like Apollo Stars & Summer by Golden, Discipline by King Crimson and Ege Bamyasi & Tago Mago by CAN.  

We wanted to try and bring more of that expression into what we were doing. None of us are players with any jazz chops, but somewhere in there those influences were being pushed out via the approaches we'd been used to working with for years, so what you get in the end is a hybrid version of it, to some degree. You get this kind of weird mish-mash of ideas and styles and it somehow works. Everything that comes out is a result of everything that has gone in. 

With the nature of how we play, you're probably still going to get some heavier or darker elements in whatever we do, but at the minute I see those as being heavy and dark in a similar way that bands like Portishead, Bjork or This Heat are, as opposed to heavy in a chug sense, which I feel we've explored to its fullest.

The more we play as individuals and as a group, the more possibilities present themselves, so it's important to acknowledge that and to not just fall into comfortable routines.

(((o))): Was there a point during the writing process where it was decided how far into the world of Prog you were heading, or again did it happen naturally?

I don't think that the word 'prog' ever came up when we were writing. We were just looking at ways in which we could approach these songs in a way that was progressive by comparison to everything we'd done leading up to that point. To me, 'Prog' and 'Progressive' are two different things entirely, in the same way that 'pop' and 'popular' are. 

There are a lot of connotations attached to 'prog' that tie you into a specific sound, whereas progressive, to me at least, can be anything from bands like Can and Kraftwerk, to Bjork or Miles Davis. There's a quote from Miles Davis that's something like, 'I don't play jazz, I play music', which sums it up. It's all just music in the end, which is the bottom line. I'm not trying to aline what we do with his music, or to crowbar in a connection, but to some degree the intent in what he said is the same. The label attached to it is of no importance. Only the result is important, whatever it ends up sounding like.

As a wiser man than I said, "every style you put in there becomes your vocabulary...Nothing is different unless you use everything together".

(((o))): Do fan-base expectations ever play a part when making a bold shift in style? Did you ever worry that some of the fans that bought Darker Later might not 'get' this new album?

Expectations outside of the four of us never play a part in what we do. Our focus is to make something that we're happy with. I remember when we finished writing a couple of the tunes from this album and thinking that nobody was going to be into this besides us, which has so far proved not to be the case. It's great to hear that people are into it. It's not that we're a million miles away from where we've been before on our other records, but there is a progression with this one that pushes us on from the record that came prior to this. A lot of it is as a result of jamming and improvising in rehearsals. 

(((o))): It's been something of a quantum leap from Darker Later to Awesome Science, if you keep on that path can we expect a full blown prog metal symphony next? Have you even started to think about the next record yet?

I think you'll be hard pressed to get us anywhere near anything like a prog metal symphony! 

We've already started writing but it's a slow process for us, especially after recording an album. It takes us a while to figure out what we want to get out of the next songs we write, what shape they're going to take, and what ideas to bring in. 

It's likely that we'll try to look at other ways of approaching writing for the next one that might give us results we wouldn't have gotten had we fallen into our usual patterns, and also adding different instrumentation and possibly playing in standard tuning. It can be hard to get the ball rolling in terms of where to start or how to approach writing differently, but the possibility of it taking us somewhere different make it worth pursuing. I'm really excited by the ideas that we're working on now so it'll be interesting to see what shape things will take. 

(((o))): Are you still looking forward to your tour with Conan and Bongripper in April now you've changed their direction away from the heavy sludge sound?

We always look forward to playing and going on tour and I'm glad that all three bands on the tour won't sound the same. 

There's a connection there musically given where we were at a few years ago, so I'm sure some of the people at the gigs will be into what we're doing now, but at the same time we're not planning on playing anything from the last few records at all anytime soon. 

(((o))): Do they mind being compared to Cave In? (by Sander at least!)

It makes sense if you're looking at it from a 'this band used to play heavy music and now they're playing space rock', standpoint. I don't feel a massive connection to them outside of that but if people hear a connection then it's fine. Take away from it what you will.

(((o))): Who has done the (seriously awesome) artwork on the album?

A Leeds based artist called Eoin Shea. He did the artwork for a band called Nope on their Revision album and we were into it immediately. I can't say enough good things about Eoin's work and how much of a great job he did with the sleeve. You really get to see how great it looks on the vinyl release as the whole image runs across all four sides of the gatefold. So, yeah, you should buy the vinyl if you're into the artwork!  

(((o))): Finally, the album has been getting some seriously good reviews; does that excite you or add to the pressure to deliver?

The reviews we've got have been great so it's definitely exciting to see that people are getting a lot from the record. Reviews, for the most part, have very little bearing on how the record will be received on the whole, or probably how much it will influence people to buy it, though it's great to see that people are digging it in print. It's reassuring. We try and put everything into playing when we're playing live so the only pressure now is for us to be good when we get up and play for people. 

(((o))): That’s the lot, thanks for some great answers. Good luck with the record.

Thanks again for asking us to do this.

Maybe it was something in the water. Out of fertile musical ground sprang forth Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies, Jonquil, Foals and This Town Needs Guns. Oxford baby. I had (still have) music scene envy. I’m from Sheffield, I had to contend with Milburn, Little Man Tate and The Rev *shudder*.

It was a song on a rocksound cover mounted cd that first brought This Town Needs Guns (or TTNG as they have been newly christened) to my ears. From there I sought out their split EP/mini album thing with Cats And Cats And Cats. I relistened to that split before writing this and it still sounds tremendous all these years later. TTNG are all about the guitar. They hurtle melodies at you in such quick fire succession, it’s at turns both thrilling and disorientating. When they get it right, it is a marvel to behold. When they get it wrong, it acts as a barrier. An excluding mechanism. There are moments on their debut, Animals, which bristle with indulgence that act as such a barrier.

The band has been through a number of line-up changes. The one that convened to record this, their second album, exists with a new singer who now also takes up bass playing duties after their previous one departed. The keening voice of Henry Tremain on first listen reminded me of Saves The Day’s Chris Conley, and even a touch of Alex Trimble of Two Door Cinema Club (I’m so very sorry!! Please, come back!). Really though, he kinda does.

For such a major change in the core members, it is fortunate that the key elements that made TTNG so appealing remain by and large intact. If anything, whatever has been going on behind the scenes seems to have given the band a renewed vigour. 13.0.0.0.0 is a wonderful album, an album that grows with each successive listen and stakes an early claim for record of the year. It is as concerned with the minutiae of each gorgeous arpeggio as it is with the overarching sound and structure. Something which Animals, for me, never struck the right balance.

The album is seemingly pieced together with the minimum of fuss. Very clean and warm, the guitars peel away from the thrust of the song at any given moment, but then wrangle it all back in seconds later. The instrumental ‘In The Branches Of Yggdrasil’ relies upon a syncopated bass run not too dissimilar to ‘Narrow Stairs’ era Death Cab… and marks out a more sedate song writing approach.

Coupled with ‘2 birds, 1 stone And An Empty Stomach’, it gives the album a breadth of scope that sets this line-up of the band apart from any previous incarnations, and also distances them from their peers. They take cues from American Football, Owen & perhaps Minus The Bear but with 13.0.0.0.0 have set a high bar for fiddly, forward thinking guitar music.

If there’s a negative here then it perhaps overstays its welcome by a song or so, and naming a song ‘Nice Riff, Clichard’ is asking for a roll of the eyes, but these are minor points when the whole is so gratifying.

It’s consistently inviting, rewarding multiple visits. The melodies buried in ‘Cat Fantastic’ or ‘Havoc In The Forum’ reveal over time, they’re densely constructed  but also wonderfully accessible. The real success with this record, and the indication of just how far TTNG have progressed are how confident they are with placing the more delicate tracks amongst the rippers.