The first word that popped into my head when I hit play on the Bad Guys' first full length album was "finally". This London based, no nonsense rock band have seemingly been around forever, tearing up this city with their incredible live shows and nothing beyond a 2 track EP to show for it.

But here it is, all teamed up with the ferocious British record label Riot Season who have put out face melting noise rock releases from epic bands such as Todd and Hey Colossus, this is a match made in the most awesome underground rock bar in heaven.

The good news is that Bad Guys is worth the wait and then some. ‘Brick Toothpick’ kicks off the proceedings with some absolutely shit kicking riffery… think ‘Rusty Cage’ by Sound Garden wrestling with some classic 70s hard rock jamming. The tortured vocals rip into it and you know you’re onto something truly bruising yet wonderful. There’s nothing terribly original about Bad Guys, a little bit of Melvins, a handful of Torche, a splattering of Sabbath, but the album somehow feels like a new approach to kick ass hard rock.

Imagine Metallica and Lou Reed really nailed Lulu and it was everything it should have been (instead of absolutely terrible)… a metal band hammering out more earth shattering riffs than you could shake a stick at with some lunatic crazy man spouting his nonsense over the top. That’s exactly what this is. Their man on vocal Stu has some important things on his chest; you can imagine him propped up at bar growling every thought that pops into his chemical ridden brain.

It’s all pretty consistent, the dual guitars work in absolute harmony together and have wonderful little hooks and quirks which keep pulling you back into Bad Guys’ fun yet brutal little world. It’s scientifically impossible not to nod your head with a scrunched up face in appreciation to some of riffs that ‘Alcowhore’ fires out.

‘Witness a new low’ has a wonderful cheesy 70s vibe but is still delivered with sludgy edge.

‘Fat Labrador’ is not only a brilliant song title but has a British feel to it. Lyrics such as “I see you at the chip shop, I see you at the park”, this album does not take itself too seriously.

The final track ‘Hurl’ what can you say apart from that it’s one of the best songs EVER! The first few minutes of heavily distorted slow stoner rock jamming could never prepare anyone for the animal, which is unleashed when things gets moving. It will make you want to throw your laptop at the wall and try start a mosh pit with your girlfriend and cat in the middle of the living room (I didn’t do that honest). The guitars are fast, dynamic and the commanding vocals scream “You weird like prick, come and suck my fucking dick” sure some might think it’s not the most grown up or intelligent lyrics in the world… but us rock fans are not meant to be grown up or intelligent and we’re damn proud of it! The break down has some wonderful soft electric noises floating around and playing with the deep distortion, almost like Neu! or Circle turned up to help them play the album out. We’re then treated to one last blast of carnage, the band are absolutely owning it whilst the vocals roar “Let’s get a fucking beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!” and they’re right; we’ve just had a power hard rock master class so come on…let’s go get that fucking beer!

Innocence. It's a lovely thing isn't it? A carefree understanding of the world, unfettered by the trappings of the modern world or adulthood. It's exactly the feeling that sprang to mind when initially hearing Dion & The Magic Chords' new release, Curiosa. It's a feeling reinforced by the album artwork, which appears as a still frame which could easily be from an imported Polish stop-motion animation from the 1960s. It's as much a statement as the music: a toy-like explosion of colour and instruments, some of which are home keyboards of 70s/80s vintage; two marionette-like musicians acting as the source of this carefully choreographed chaos.  

Throughout the course of the album, one can make connections to danceable jazz, some blues riff-age, naive sonic experiments, krautrock dronery, 60s/70s British public information films and archetypal 'lift music'. 

There's always a knowing innocence to this though. As the album progresses, we are transported from child-like simplicity with 'Prelude' and the first few bars of the next track, 'City Light Motion'; via an electronic jazz-blues workout, to the stand-out track, 'Curiosa'. Here we encounter rhythmic elements of samba with some strident chord-work and distorted leads. The track builds and shifts, as does most of the album. Rhythmic passages segue and overlap, the keyboard drones become stabs of chunky chords. There's richness and depth to this music, of both sound and structure.

'Bloose' develops into a lovely, thick slab of arpeggios and chords. 'Sehnsucht' starts out all epic repetition and develops into a sonic nursery rhyme. Then another beauty of a track: 'Seasaw' starts out all Boards of Canada and then gets into serious Tangerine Dream territory with saw-wave arpeggios and lush pads. Closing track, the magnum-opus 'To The Moon….And Back', gives us a past vision of the future and then takes a darker turn with synth drones and odd squiggles of sound.

So, after all this wordy bollocks, is it any good? In short, yes. Very good, in fact. 

DATMC are walking a relatively well-worn path previously occupied by the likes of Stereolab, Plone and Broadcast; but they are doing so with considerable skill, invention and good-humour. The tracks exhilarate, entertain and evoke. You can't ask for more really. Impressive. 

The Pod is the solo project of MAKE's Scott Endres. I'm a long-term fan of MAKE's sludge filled post-metal. One of the elements that drew me to them was the long textured ambient passages that contribute to their excellent sound.

With The Pod, Scott fully realises these 'moments' of MAKE, giving them room to breathe, sprawl out and evolve. It is this kind of sound present on Assassins in the Mirrored Hall I jokingly refer to as "Post-Morphine". Anyone who has had the need for morphine may have experienced the wave like euphoric feeling it can give (Oh for the record don't do drugs kids!). Its these 'waves' that best describes for me the textured ambient music Scott produces both here and incorporated into MAKE. It is not all drone, there are rhythms and structures that take shape. In fact fellow MAKE members Spencer Lee and Matt Stevenson provide some support with contributions across tracks on bass and drums.

Assassins in the Mirrored Hall begins with the short 'Times Desiccated Sanctuary' before expanding in sprawling ambient fashion with the near 15 minute 'The Analeptic Ritual'. Displaying The Pod at its best, shimmering ambience and drone like openings,give way to building rhythms and swirling guitar. It is one of the highlights on the album. 'A Stranger in a Hidden Room' features some psychedelic rhythms and distorted guitar with flourishes of electronic fills.

The Pod is an excellent side-project of MAKE, and can be enjoyed by their fans but will also appeal to a wide range of music fans. There is a variety of sounds and structures that make each track interesting. It rarely descends into drone just for the sake of it, tracks evolve and take shape. Another lengthy workout 'Citadel Of Mirages' begins with harsh distortion upfront, with more delicate melody emerging before entering some Sunn O))) like heavier territory. 'Abandoned Ark' features low-fi electronic noise and is infectious in its repetitive rhythm.

If you pre-order Assassins in the Mirrored Hall you receive an immediate download of the album and two bonus tracks not available after release. I highly recommend doing so, as one of said tracks 'Reinvent the Wheel' is another highlight. An almost Dj Shadow feel with its drumbeat and glitch noises it takes an evil turn towards the end.

Scott has produced another excellent album of varied sounds and further demonstrates his talent. Assassins in the Mirrored Hall is available to pre-order now. All pre-order funds contribute to the production of physical copies and if you’re quick additional free items are included, so it’s a really good project to support. Get your copy here.

Space..the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Gnod as they take you to the outer reaches of space rock. Perhaps a more apt beginning would be the wise words of Nik Turner…DO NOT PANIC.

For it’s with the legendary Hawkwind that Gnod lay their badge, not that this is a bad thing. Chaudelande Vol 1 & 2 is a re-release of sorts (it’s an independent thing) which would tie in nicely with the newly released Space Ritual from the aforementioned Hawkwind. This is space rock for a new age though with more in common with the industrial sound of techno and Krautrock than it does with the magic mushroom insanity of the 1970’s.

‘Tron’ starts proceedings with it motoric rhythm building up into a crescendo which is both equal parts Can and Motorhead. It’s not easy listening, it’s not meant to be, but it affects the parts that not much other music does. Try it first thing in the morning for a quite different start to the day.

It’s not all about the riffs and beats though, bubbling vocals add disconcerting sounds to the pounding music. ‘Visions of Load’ builds on this but it is with the almost left turn of ‘The Vertical Dead’ that Chaudelande takes a different tact.

‘The Vertical Dead’ is quite astonishing in that it mixes tribal rhythms with a slow burning techno sound which drags you into its darker regions. It is a thing of terror and horror and takes a strong stomach to stay with it…ultimately though, this is a worthwhile experience.

The rest of the album can’t seem to keep up with this and suffers ever so slightly. The riffs do become rather formulaic and you find yourself wishing for some respite. Of course, this is music for the live arena and so would make perfect sense there. It’s only with the final track ‘Genocider’ that we glimpse an ironic side to Gnod though which makes sense of what we have been listening to. About halfway through the song there is what seems to be a homage to Black Sabbath which completely throws you back to the 70’s and reminds you where this music originated from. Music that has been done before but on this showing who cares as it is so much fun.

Black Pus, side project of Lightning Bolt’s drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale is back with album number seven All My Relations. According to the press release, Brian is now experimenting with pop structures. That simple statement would likely cause incredulous facial contortions from 99.999% of the population. For those of us who are familiar with the absolute mayhem that Chippendale conjures up with his Providence cohort Brian Gibson in the aforementioned Lightning Bolt, this description is reasonably accurate. All My Relations is the most commercial offering yet, certainly since 2005’s Hypermagic Mountain. Of course, commercial as a description for the type of out there sounds created by Chippendale is overtly generous. The relentless, cascading rhythms, remarkable percussive time signatures and unconventional shrieking vocal stylings are unlike any other act I’m aware of. Repeated listens to this extreme music always generates new findings with every turn, which is part of the appeal for me.

The last Lightning Bolt album Oblivion Hunter featured unreleased material and had disappointed me with it’s lack of hooks. Thankfully, Chippendale has re-ignited his pop sensibilities with this new album and in '1000 Years', could we have a crossover hit on our hands? Highly unlikely, but it might just reach out to a few more who would previously have shunned the wayward carnage of  most of his back catalogue. Featuring a snappy jive beat and a traditional verse chorus verse structure, it’s a real highlight of the album.

Released in March on the Thrill Jockey label, Brian has eschewed the usual 4-track shenanigans in favour of utilising a proper recording studio and allowing Keith Souza and Seth Manchester to oversee the recording process. This gives a clarity and sheen that doesn’t take away from the sheer brutality of the performance, but enhances the listening experience. Experience is a key word when dealing with Black Pus/Lightning Bolt. To listen to this (or any other Chippendale album) requires you to be in a certain frame of mind, your mindset will certainly be altered by the time you’re done.

All My Relations features a considerable amount of “vocals” for a Chippendale release, with an ever expanding range of styles. On 'Hear No Evil' we get medieval chanting, 'Word On The Street' features a caterwauling Tarzan, all processed through the usual array of effects and distortion. No need for a lyric sheet here, given Brian’s insane ramblings on Twitter it’s probably for the best, I shudder to think what the content might actually be.

The opening 'Marauder' sets the tone for the rest of the album with it’s huge groaning bass throb and spleen bursting drum patterns. Technically drum and bass but as far removed from that genre as you could possibly imagine. 'Fly On The Wall' settles very quickly into a 2-note groove and is one of the few tracks that utilise traditonal song structures.  Closing track 'A Better Man' is a 10-minute epic workout that ends up chasing itself, such is the intensity of the sounds being unleashed.

As with a lot of Chippendale’s recorded output, when it’s good, it’s very very good but when it’s bad it’s a form of aural torture. There are occasions on this record where there’s a coherency with the riffs and grooves, little pockets of merciful memorable moments that give the listener something to grasp onto. At times though, the urge to languish in a quagmire of scuzzed out experimentation overcomes and the track ends up spiralling into insane tangents, the listener ends up begging for mercy. Again, this is part of the appeal for me, it’s a masochistic endurance challenge but ultimately a rewarding experience for those willing to see it through.

I find Brian Chippendale a most intriguing artist, a huge influence on my own musical dabblings but firstly and foremostly, a drummer of extraordinary ability. The technical ability to create this music in both studio and live environment is quite incredible (I urge you to check out Youtube footage of Lightning Bolt gigs). I don’t see him ever gaining mass appeal, operating on the extremities of musical terror that he does, but he is seemingly having a blast doing it. More power to him.

It’s no lie to say we love Hookworms at Echoes & Dust. For the last year or so they have been shocking us with how they are maturing in to what can be described as one of the best UK Psych bands. Since I interviewed them last year they have grown in such stature as a live band that I’ve been itching to see how that will transform on to vinyl and with Pearl Mystic all I can say is WOW. For those who haven’t heard or seen this Leeds 5 piece hold on to your hats because this record is going to make these boys very busy and before the year is out you will not only know them but you will be eulogising about them like a bible basher at your local shopping precinct on a Saturday afternoon.

For those who want a synopsis of what Hookworms sounds like imagine the bastard love child of Perry Farrell fronting some Stooges/The Seeds/Wooden Shjips  with a little touch of the story telling of other Yorkshire luminaires like Pulp.

Pearl Mystic kicks off with a lovely textured drone that has a fine balance of tension building perfectly as ‘Away/Towards’ hits a technicolour crescendo. ‘Form & Function’ which was previously on the Gringo Records split with Kogumaza hits home with a pop sensibility in its harmony backing vocals that you doesn’t normally work in this genre but her its majestically reminiscent of 60s garage R&B bands.

I love the interludes on the record, they counterbalance the wonderful songs and I would be happy with an album of those alone but I am a feedback/drone/reverb whore who can listen to things self-oscillating until the cows come home

‘In Our Time’which has been doing the rounds as a rerelease titbit has a moody swagger of grim back streets and a disaffected jilted lover lamenting his feelings to any passing cat that would care. Sensitive, insular and overt as only can be allowed at one time by his pain will allow.

‘Since we changed’ is a lovely dirge punctuated with tambourine mournfully playing out while the guitars swirl, bass line just pacing us a long until MJ’s lovely vocals transcend to the heavens. More glorious 60s tinges that send shivers down the spine.

Holy Fucking Bo Diddley, what the hell happened there! Shit a brick, ‘Preservation’ is just heart pumping tribal, leg shaking pulsating, machine gun bass lines spraying the crowds in to a frenzy. When the fuzz wah lead kicks in I’m in heaven, pulse racing, strobe lights hitting the back of my mind and flashing into my primal heart.

Then finally, ‘What We Talk About’ is a perfect closure. The harmonies, sparse rhythms, droning organs, slide guitars and slow build until you are putting your arms around your neighbour and swaying along (this nearly got me in to trouble on the 75 bus last night).

Psych has some stirrings in the ether at the moment and these Leeds upstarts are going to cause a few waves when they break through in to the mainstream, dragging their glorious brand of drone/blues/pop/fuzz sanctified music to the masses. So don’t repent your sins if you haven’t got on the bus yet, just enjoy every last bit of fuzzed up goodness.

When was the last time you heard something that really surprised you? A question in a similar fashion was brought up by a like minded music lover in an email conversation a while back. I had to agree a good point was being made; it's not very often I come by music which strike me as unique and utterly takes me by surprise. The last album which did is Jerusalem In My Heart's cryptically titled "Mo7it Al-Mo7it".

Montreal-based Radwan Ghazi Moumneh is the man behind this contemporary Arabic and electronic music project which was formed eight years ago. Since two years ago JIMH has been a trio consisting of musician and producer Jérémie Regnier and visual artist Malena Szlam Salazar. Together their three different backgrounds are as diverse as Lebanese, French and Chilean! During their live shows they use film projections to visually enhance the music, and it's being said that the concerts have never repeated themselves - neither music-wise or visually wise. I can imagine this strict artsy performance approach is very likely to be the main reason why it took so long before the project evolved into a debut album.

"Mo7it Al-Mo7it" often includes Moumneh's characteristic use of Arabic singing styles - and to me it's a thematically built album and very much like a man's wanderings through a city. This day is transformed into sound which are divided into seven deeply emotional chapters. The opening song is an epic song of the man standing right before a religious wall singing out his prayers during the early sunrise. After his dramatic morning prayer he continues to find his favorite park to reflect upon recent happenings. Improvised acoustic guitar playing is combined with birds singing gently for over nine minutes. This cominbation is like shivering water; so calm and meditative, and yet so abiding and restless - in many ways similar to the ancient-like music of Anouar Brahem.

He gets distracted by a fraction of a thought. A soon-to-arise-problem is lurking in his mind. He leaves the comforting park and wanders out into the streets, which are getting more and more crowded as the sunrise is turning into bright, blinding daylight. Psychedelic ambient is combined with whispering and dark Arabic singing; the voice inside his head is troubling him and the faces of the crowd has never seemed as unfamiliar or as hostile. 

He has to get away from this morning chaos, so he goes to find his room. It's a simple room with a wooden bed, table, chair and a small window. A glass of water and some pieces of bread lies on the table. This is when he starts to whimper out loud. And this is where I'm going to stop this fantasy tale, because I just have to say; I haven't heard as much sorrow and despair packed into one song as in the fourth '3anzah Jarbanah'. Try to imagine all the fear you have ever felt through your entire life. At the same time. This song is exactly how that would sound like. 

The album continues in a similar fashion, but in the sixth and seventh track we get to the climax where all the tension and the unsettling back-and-forth between darkness and brightness finally comes out. JIMH's music is mentally exhausting, but ultimately rewarding when listened to under the right conditions.

God Damn is a 3-piece noise band from Wolverhampton who make, according to the press release, “rock music for degenerates”. After listening to the new single, which is more a 4-track EP, I can only come to the conclusion that I must be a degenerate person, as I really like what I’m hearing. The 4 tracks on this release are full of lots of heavy and filthy riffs, combined with plenty of melodic touches. And that is something I just love.

If I have to describe the music Thom (guitar/vocals), Dave (guitar/vocals) and Ash (drums) make in more detail, I think I’ll come up with something like filthy bluesy grunge guitar noise rock metal, because I find all these genres back on this EP. Whilst listening to this release classic guitar noise bands such as Pissed Jeans, The Jesus Lizard and Melvins come to mind. There is not much new going on here, but God Damn does the job more than satisfactory.

The tracks all follow a fairly similar formula, with lots of distorted grunge guitar riffs, heavy, and sometimes nicely melodic bass lines, but all have their individual touches that make them stand out from each other. Thom and Dave share the vocal duties from one song to the other, which provides some nice change in the sound. Most of all, this EP is noisy and filthy, but also pleasantly catchy and slightly addictive. The songs are on the shorter side, no endless repeats of riffs, verses and choruses, which are totally unnecessary when writing a good pop song really.

The main single ‘I’m a Lazer, You’re a Radar’ kicks off with a nice up-tempo noisy drum beat and some heavy guitar riffing followed quickly with quite screaming vocals. The bass is adding a lot of nice touches by playing various higher melodic notes. Mid-way through the track there is a bit of a turn-around as it drops to a more down-tempo almost sludge-like riff in the chorus, with the singer repeatedly singing the line “I’m a lazer, you’re a radar”.  Very catchy indeed and this song is a great single, which no doubt will do nicely on various alternative radio shows.

The next track ‘Fought in the Mirror’ is slightly longer (it hits the 3 minutes mark!), and changes singers and thereby demonstrates a lot more melody in the vocals, almost giving the impression Jello Biafra has joined the band. A nice little build up after around 1 minute is followed by a heavy, almost metal-like riff. The song ends with a minute more of heavy riffing after a deadly sounding scream by one of the vocalists. It really is good stuff.

In the next track ‘Dead on the Wall’ there is the short introduction of an organ whilst the main riff continues throughout the song, with various guitar and vocal parts providing the change in structure in this song. The chorus is catchy again, this time using a simple “Woohoohoo”.

We end this EP with the track ‘Double Negative’, which has a lot more slower elements and is pure metal if you ask me. It is melodic groove metal, again with those Jello Biafra sounding vocals. After a little breather we are thrown back into the heavy riffing with the singer shouting the lyrics “I got no soul, I got no soul” and “All I said and all I done is meant to freak out everyone”.

All in all, this nicely produced 4-track single release is a must have for any fan of noisy guitar grunge rock. You don’t need to be degenerate to be able to enjoy God Damn, but it sure helps you moshing away through your living room while you’re doing Beavis and Butthead styled air guitar playing stage dives of the sofa.

The single is a split label release through Distorted Tapes and Gravy Records and will be released on February 11^th.

While they work on their next studio album, the San-Francisco based dream-pop/shoe-gazing specialists Echodrone have recorded a six-track covers album which takes in Louis Armstrong, Gary Numan and George Michael among others.

The title is fitting (although the identity of “Duckie” remains unknown) as the band’s hypnotic sound echoes back to a time when mix tapes were lovingly crafted and passed on to friends. From the first note of this tribute, a similar care is evident and each of these tracks come together to form a sum greater than their parts.

It kicks off with The Alan Parson’s Project’s ‘Time’ – beginning with a synthesised beat that lush guitars build around. The pace remains controlled, rising to a harmonic chorus that reminds us just how well Eugene Suh and Meredith Gibbons’ voice complement each other.

Gary Numan’s ‘Are Friends Electric’ is instantly recognisable by its bass line yet soon becomes immersed in a haze of feedback and fuzz. Christopher Cross’ ‘Sailing’ sounds as if Gribbon’s voice is the wind itself ushering us across an ocean. ‘Cry Little Sister’ by Gerard McMann (which featured on the glorious The Lost Boys soundtrack (greatest soundtrack ever! – Ed.)) follows in similar fashion. Each track builds slowly before lifting euphorically in the chorus as walls of guitars fill every aural space available.

It’s the San Francisco-based band’s take on ‘We Have All the Time in the World’ (the only non-80s track included) that stands out though. It sounds as if The Flaming Lips and The Cocteau Twins had a baby that was raised by Kevin Shields. If old Satchmo himself heard it, his beaming smile would surely break out wider than ever.

And where did ‘Praying For Time’ come from? Suh assumes lead here and the vocal sways from channel to channel like George Michael behind the wheel of his 4x4. It creates a warbling effect that is truly mesmerising.

Covers should never be karaoke recreations of songs in the style they were written in a la Cowell Creations, but a band’s own take on a piece of music they feel strongly enough about to pay homage to. To that end this album sounds like Echodrone and no one else.

Muddy Miles are a heavy progressive metal  band from London who released their debut “Another Headache” back in September 2012. When spinning their 6 song, 39 minute opus one thing becomes abundantly clear… they listen to Tool, lots of Tool and when they are not listening to Tool they are chilling out to a little A Perfect Circle. Even their cover art is reminiscent of ‘Lateralus’, Tool’s finest work. Not that this is too much of a bad thing, Tool are one of the most amazing bands on the planet so a great platform to launch yourself off on your debut album.

‘Demur’ kicks off with soft guitar noises, before firing into some crunching riffs and is a solid little opener. Like the rest of the album, the vocals come in and are exclusive to the break downs… and you before ask, yes the vocalist Muhebur sounds like Maynard James Keynan. He starts off soft but briefly gets aggressive just as the band fire back into heavy riffery. Tool influences aside, it’s pretty hypnotic stuff.

 

 

Without warning we’re suddenly hearing a subtle yet speedy riff and Muddy Miles are hammering into the title track ‘Another Headache’. At this point you can tell the band have conjured a consistent vibe across the album, they come across an album band, which is obviously an impressive and vital quality. Unfortunately the lyrics are pretty uninspired, the chorus cries “Someone Open My Eyes”, which is tame and won’t live long in the memory.

We’re then taken into ‘Embryo’, which is jam packed full of sublime riffs and stunning layered guitars. The vocals are few and far between to make way for instrumental intensity.  It’s prog metal executed very neatly.

We’re then encouraged to have a tea break with ‘How About A Nice Cup of Tea’.  A real life tea break would be beneficial here as it gets a little sloppy. At this point we should be firing on all cylinders but the album gets a little unfocussed, maybe even a little dull. As with all good progressive metal there is a rescue attempt by the return of some decent riffs towards the end and even spirals into chaos but it’s not enough to save the track from a touch of mediocrity.

The rest of the album takes a very similar stance to rest, quiet break down parts for the soft vocals and then a build up for some heavy jamming. The album cries out for the aggressive vocals to run alongside the hard metal sections but it never happens. The band really know how to play their instruments, some of the guitar parts are mind melting and they manage to deliver a layered sound which really give the heavy parts some depth. The main problem with this band is the age old ‘Bands that sound like Tool’ problem, they are NEVER as good as Tool. However, with a little originality and courage to get the vocals in sync with the more hostile patches, we could be looking at quite an exciting little progressive metal prospect.

My house is definitely a house divided, at least when it comes to the age-old, fundamental question: TV or Music? My wife definitely likes to have the TV on, although it seems like she has it more for noise than for actually sitting and watching with any sort of real attention. I write this because a while back, I decided that we were going to listen to music where we would normally have the TV on. I ended up putting on Arms of Tripoli's EP from the back end of 2012, "All the Fallen Embers".

To clarify, the wife is about 50/50 when it comes to my music: She tolerates half, and hates the other half!

Arms of Tripoli, I am happy to share, is in the tolerated half.

I have to make a confession though: I had a really hard time sitting and listening without doing something else (reading, etc). Now, I am not 'That Guy', Mister Master Multi-Tasker, Smartphone always at hand. I am, in fact, quite the single-tasker. Then I had a striking realization: I have been listening to Arms of Tripoli at work and have actually trained myself using this EP to focus and be productive when it's playing.

Since my first listen to "All the Fallen Embers", it has become my go-to working music. At 6 tracks and 29 minutes, it's a really quick and easy listen, and as I was explaining, is really easy to listen to while engaging in tasks that require my full (or most of my) attention and brain power. There's nothing that I could call musically groundbreaking here, as is the case with most of the really solid, enjoyable music I am drawn to; "Embers" is tight, melodic without being twee or boring, and is Math-y enough, with texture and character, that I can listen without being distracted or annoyed by it.

Track 1, 'Vikings in the Attic', is repetitive at times (as pointed out by my wife), but has some build-up and time changes to add drama, and I really dig the sort of muted splash of the cymbals. Lurking just under the surface, you can tell that these musicians could probably shred us up with their chops if they wanted, but that's not the character here. They seem to be more about setting moods with atmosphere than trying to prove anything.

Track 2 is considerably more downbeat, a little melancholy even. Entitled 'City Speak', it's got a series of tight guitar strum notes, which remind me of parts in some of Dredg's earlier tunes, that I just love. For whatever reason, this tune evokes a little bit of the feeling of regret and maybe loss, and if you have ever read any of my reviews, you will know that I am a total sucker for grayish tunes like this one.

'Sectioned by Brooks' is slightly grittier in the faster parts, with a little fuzz on guitar; the slide-guitar sounding parts remind me ever so slightly of Keith Richards back in the olden days, and for whatever reason make me think of one of those marker buoys that you might hear, bell ringing through a fog. I wonder if Brooks are bodies of water or a person?

Next, 'Waking Eyes' is the longest track at just about 6 minutes, and showcases the guitar most prominently. Following that is 'Cliff Dwellings', which has some pretty deep layering - you can most easily hear the sort of jangling lead, but there is a lot going on between the deeper-throated guitar bridges. Last but not least, 'Radio Silence' brings it home with the quickest tempo, complete with jazzy snare rolls.

Arms of Tripoli, of Los Angeles, California, is something of an instrumental post-rock supergroup, with members coming from a number of other instrumental bands, and these folks are the real deal.

I mean, this is really good music, and I am sure that a wider audience would appreciate it, but realistically, it doesn't usually reach them. That means that these musicians do it for the love of making music, and to me, there is no beating that.

I first heard of Encircling Sea when (((o))) scribe Down Under, Gilbert, mentioned the band to myself (and others, more than once) and given he knows his stuff and has directed me to other great Australian music, I had to check them out.

Although a lot of us share similar tastes, music is often an individual opinion. Turns out in this case though Gilbert's opinion was spot on! Encircling Sea are a special band, "Ecru" their previous 37 minute 1 track release was an excellent introduction into their world for me. "A Forgotten Land" takes us further into their realm.

Musically "A Forgotten Land" is a dense, dark journey through various facets of extreme heavy music. There are elements of the likes of Deafheaven's blackened rage, progressive black metal, textured post-metal and more than a hint of folk.

The themes and lyrics of Encircling Sea address the decline of the natural world and a desire to embrace it. Guitarist/Vocalist Rob Allen recently revealed in an interview with Gilbert how the beauty and tranquillity of the natural world inspires him. It translates on "A Forgotten Land" as musically it shifts dynamics and evokes feelings of the Earth's natural power and beauty. At times crushing, relentless and heavy like an avalanche of boulders and mud sweeping all in its path. Other points are serene and ethereal like standing barefoot in a forest, earth between the toes, wind whistling through the trees.

Consisting of just four songs, its not short however with three at around 20 minutes and the (short) one at ten minutes. 'Transcend' sees a brief appearance of a female vocal, adding to the shifting atmospherics and pile-driving rhythms.

I later learnt the female singer is Rob Allen's own wife, Ramanee and the two combine with beautiful results on 'Become'. Essentially a folk duet it comes as a surprise around halfway through, but fits the theme of the album so well. Acoustic strumming, and layers of ambience, give way to the two singers. Their voices entwined like the roots of the trees they sing of. The lyrics tell of "coming home" and a "new day, will be upon us soon". Its a moving tale of returning to the more natural environment they live in now (Rob is an organic farmer), and leaving the grey and steel of city life behind. Chilling and mesmerising, like a musical equivalent of lying on-top a mountain staring at the night sky and views.

'Return' closes the album in more typical metallic style, a 20 minute trek through Encircling Sea's sound. Gripping guitar and layered electronics fill out the track, shifting from slower parts with soaring vocals to break-neck drumming and harsher feel. It continues to flow, featuring more acoustic moments and never dragging despite its length.

"A Forgotten Land" is a must hear for fans of extreme heavy music and Encircling Sea should be a name to remember.