Gregory Robson
06/26/08, 06:06 AM
Lebanon - Planet Rubble
Record Label: Australian Cattle God
Release Date: May 15, 2007
Lebanon is an instrumental band from Tel Aviv, Israel, that calls to mind Mogwai, New York-based Faunts and Florida's short-lived Bernard. Like most instrumental albums, Planet Rubble gets a bit wearing after 54-minutes and certainly twelve songs of instrumental tracks does take a heavy toll on a listener, but for a band with little acclaim or fanfare in America, this is a refreshing and optimistic disc.
Beginning with the five-minute opener, "Finland," and the six-minute second track, "Buried in the Avenue," the disc begins rather modestly. The album even has slower, mid-tempo moments such as the introduction to songs “The Dying Man,” “Poltergeist,” and “Joan of Arc.” Of course these quiet, meditative introductions yield to brash swirls of atmospheric guitar in a way that's cataclysmic and powerful. Guitars crash down on the palette of music with both a wanton ferocity and a twining chime. The drums are propulsive and chaotic and equally at pace with the awkward and cascading bass.
If this all sounds grandiose and destructive, that's because the music of Lebanon is just that. Though the liner notes, press kit and song titles speak little to the political limbo the country remains consigned to, the album proves to be an effective soundtrack to exactly that. Having toured with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy across America, the band is no stranger to mid-major tours. Whether or not the band makes a splash in America is yet to be determined but if hard-hitting, propulsive instrumental is something attractive, this disc could just be a new staple.
Pelican, Faunts, Mogwai
myspace.com/lebanonband (http://www.myspace.com/lebanonband)
Record Label: Australian Cattle God
Release Date: May 15, 2007
Lebanon is an instrumental band from Tel Aviv, Israel, that calls to mind Mogwai, New York-based Faunts and Florida's short-lived Bernard. Like most instrumental albums, Planet Rubble gets a bit wearing after 54-minutes and certainly twelve songs of instrumental tracks does take a heavy toll on a listener, but for a band with little acclaim or fanfare in America, this is a refreshing and optimistic disc.
Beginning with the five-minute opener, "Finland," and the six-minute second track, "Buried in the Avenue," the disc begins rather modestly. The album even has slower, mid-tempo moments such as the introduction to songs “The Dying Man,” “Poltergeist,” and “Joan of Arc.” Of course these quiet, meditative introductions yield to brash swirls of atmospheric guitar in a way that's cataclysmic and powerful. Guitars crash down on the palette of music with both a wanton ferocity and a twining chime. The drums are propulsive and chaotic and equally at pace with the awkward and cascading bass.
If this all sounds grandiose and destructive, that's because the music of Lebanon is just that. Though the liner notes, press kit and song titles speak little to the political limbo the country remains consigned to, the album proves to be an effective soundtrack to exactly that. Having toured with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy across America, the band is no stranger to mid-major tours. Whether or not the band makes a splash in America is yet to be determined but if hard-hitting, propulsive instrumental is something attractive, this disc could just be a new staple.
Pelican, Faunts, Mogwai
myspace.com/lebanonband (http://www.myspace.com/lebanonband)