Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Luciferian Towers (Constellation)"
It’s not easy to be a political, revolutionary band while also being an instrumental post-rock orchestra. Somehow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor have figured out how to do just that with their latest, Luciferian Towers (Constellation). Full of their “most melodic and powerfully positive-sounding music to date” (Pitchfork) LT also includes political screeds via liner notes and press releases demanding “An end to foreign invasions. An end to borders. The total dismantling of the prison-industrial complex. Healthcare, housing, food and water acknowledged as an inalienable human right.” Not an easy trick to be hauntingly beautiful and mad as hell, is it? Well GY!BE certainly pull it off here on their latest majestic, atmospheric release. Check out the first single from the album, the sprawling “Undoing A Luciferian Towers.”
TRØN & DVD "Afraid Of The Dark (Kiam)"
Brothers Norvin and Darian Van Dunk, known here as TRØN & DVD, have been making rap music for as long as they can remember. But Afraid Of The Dark, their Kiam debut, is also their first proper album released by a label. Sys Norvin: ““When we went in [to Kiam Records Shop], we gave [Jennifer O’Connor] our CDs, and she liked it enough to help us out and sign us, which is cool, cause we were always doing everything ourselves.” Credit where credit is due, Nyack News and Views (Kiam Record IS from Nyack after all) said it best when they said “Afraid of the Dark’s paranoid sonic landscape stems from indie rock as much as it does Wu-Tang Clan or Eminem.” Get ready to fall in love with the mixture of TRØN’s easy, smooth flow mixed with DVD’s gravely, bellowing delivery. Not to mention guest turns from Kiam label mates Amy Bezunartea, Jennifer O’Connor, as well as co-production from Tom Beaujour. Favorite line on the record? “They be thinkin’ we went Paleo we go against grains.” #sogood Check out the vital “Vigilantes.”
Watter "History Of The Future (Temporary Residence)"
Watter, the instrumental post-rock trio featuring members of Saint and Grails, are back! When their debut album This World was released, no one was sure if this would be a one off or a full-fledged project. Well after turning the US with Om, they returned to the studio to record their follow-up, the unexpectedly gorgeous History Of The Future (Temporary Residence). Imagine if Pink Floyd’s last album, The Division Bell, had been good (and instrumental), and add like a 10% modern electronic music twist to it, and you are getting close to the sound of this soaring, majestic, triumphant album. Check out the first single from the album, the epic sounds of “Shadow Chase.”
And So I Watch You From Afar "The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House)"
Belfast post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar are back! 2 years out from their last collection of instrumental rock mayhem, they have gifted the world with The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House). Recorded over 9 days while they were snowed in at Machines with Magnets in Rhode Island, the band emerged with a completed album just as the snow had begun to melt. Now that album, with a sound that is a combination of The Fucking Champs, Grails, and Yes, is here to melt your face, and your ears, and your stereo. Don’t worry, not in a real way–although don’t turn it up TOO loud, after all I did see Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” once turn a speakers tweeters into a black viscous goo when turned up too loud, and this is just as punishing as that… Anyway, let the heavy metal triumph of “A Slow Unfolding Of Wings” get you to where you need to go. Enjoy!