Blake Solomon
06/25/09, 06:44 PM
Sleepmakeswaves / Tangled Thoughts of Leaving – Split
Record Label: I honestly have no idea – something Australian?
Release Date: April 1, 2009
Who?
This split comes from two Australian instrumental bands, one being the more refined, well-known Sleepmakeswaves, and the other being the newer, madly improvisational Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Split works because both bands present their post-rock in vastly different formulas. If you compare these bands to EITS, I will cut you.
How Is It?
My love affair with Sleepmakeswaves is no secret (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=307175). Seeing them give a fatherly nudge to TTOL speaks volumes about the new band, but trust that the songs from Sleepmakeswaves do not disappoint. “Keep Your Splendid Silent Sun” moves quickly with the band’s signature electronic overlay and not-too-heavy breakdowns. Even though the guitars tend to bring tags of “post-metal” to the group, it’s never too much that you won’t find yourself able to, you know, think. Thankfully the group doesn’t always see fit to pummel, and an attempt at aqueous-tinged jamming works wonderfully on “This Is How We Remember (Secret Robot)”. Keyboards and electronics take center stage while wavering riffs move the mind far from the body. To spare you too much Blake-blabbing, there's essentially three songs from the band that could easily contend with anything on In Today Already Walks Tomorrow, and since you can’t see it, I’ll say that I’m presently smiling like a mad man.
But that was the easy part. Although I had positive inclinations about Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, I truly had no idea what to expect. What I received was some of the darkest piano music I’d ever heard. 16-minute “The World Is A Deaf Machine” predictably (but not really!) runs through scenes like your favorite Broadway musical. At times the piano borders on classical, which is fine because I bet this would sound great in an orchestra hall. But as the song progresses into its sinister mid-section with guttural guitars and trashcan drumming, that same piano morphs into a constant source of pleasantness; it acts as a lightening agent to the band’s otherwise eerie tunes. It’s not easy on the ears like Sleepmakeswaves, but TTOL’s piano is the band’s much-needed balancing beam: never do they seep into total blackness.
Split is intriguing because of the differences it contains. One band is catchy and one band is cerebral. One uses electronics and the other uses a piano. One is established and one has barely wedged its foot in your door (ears?). But through the dichotomy appears an exceptionally engaging disc of intelligent instrumental music. Opposites attract, man.
Recommended If You Like: This Will Destroy You, Mooncake, paganism, Yndi Halda, nymph shit
www.myspace.com/sleepmakeswaves www.myspace.com/ttol
Record Label: I honestly have no idea – something Australian?
Release Date: April 1, 2009
Who?
This split comes from two Australian instrumental bands, one being the more refined, well-known Sleepmakeswaves, and the other being the newer, madly improvisational Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Split works because both bands present their post-rock in vastly different formulas. If you compare these bands to EITS, I will cut you.
How Is It?
My love affair with Sleepmakeswaves is no secret (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=307175). Seeing them give a fatherly nudge to TTOL speaks volumes about the new band, but trust that the songs from Sleepmakeswaves do not disappoint. “Keep Your Splendid Silent Sun” moves quickly with the band’s signature electronic overlay and not-too-heavy breakdowns. Even though the guitars tend to bring tags of “post-metal” to the group, it’s never too much that you won’t find yourself able to, you know, think. Thankfully the group doesn’t always see fit to pummel, and an attempt at aqueous-tinged jamming works wonderfully on “This Is How We Remember (Secret Robot)”. Keyboards and electronics take center stage while wavering riffs move the mind far from the body. To spare you too much Blake-blabbing, there's essentially three songs from the band that could easily contend with anything on In Today Already Walks Tomorrow, and since you can’t see it, I’ll say that I’m presently smiling like a mad man.
But that was the easy part. Although I had positive inclinations about Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, I truly had no idea what to expect. What I received was some of the darkest piano music I’d ever heard. 16-minute “The World Is A Deaf Machine” predictably (but not really!) runs through scenes like your favorite Broadway musical. At times the piano borders on classical, which is fine because I bet this would sound great in an orchestra hall. But as the song progresses into its sinister mid-section with guttural guitars and trashcan drumming, that same piano morphs into a constant source of pleasantness; it acts as a lightening agent to the band’s otherwise eerie tunes. It’s not easy on the ears like Sleepmakeswaves, but TTOL’s piano is the band’s much-needed balancing beam: never do they seep into total blackness.
Split is intriguing because of the differences it contains. One band is catchy and one band is cerebral. One uses electronics and the other uses a piano. One is established and one has barely wedged its foot in your door (ears?). But through the dichotomy appears an exceptionally engaging disc of intelligent instrumental music. Opposites attract, man.
Recommended If You Like: This Will Destroy You, Mooncake, paganism, Yndi Halda, nymph shit
www.myspace.com/sleepmakeswaves www.myspace.com/ttol