65daysofstatic — Wild Light (2013) |
65daysofstatic — Wild Light
→ Focusing on instrumental post–rock with live and electronic percussion, 65daysofstatic is based in Sheffield, England. The band, whose name originates from an unreleased John Carpenter film called Stealth Bomber.
Formed: 2001 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Location: Sheffield, England, UK
Album release: Monday, 16 September, 2013
Record Label: Superball Music/Bird´s Robe Records/Zankyo
Duration: 55:29
Tracks:
1. Heat Death Infinity Splitter (5:07)
2. Prisms (5:58)
3. The Undertow (6:32)
4. Blackspots (7:30)
5. Sleepwalk City (6:54)
6. Taipei (6:00)
7. Unmake the Wild Light (6:24)
8. Safe Passage (5:58)
9. Doxxx Yrself (iTunes Bonus Track) (5:06)
→ All songs written by Robert Jones / Joe Shrewsbury / Paul Wolinski / Simon Wright.
Group Members:
→ Gareth Hughes
→ Iain Armstrong
→ Joe Shrewsbury
→ Paul Wolinski
→ Rob Jones
→ Simon Wright
Lineup included:
→ Shrewsbury (guitar)
→ Wolinski (guitar, programming)
→ Jones (drums)
→ Simon Wright (bass, programming)
Artist Biography by Kenyon Hopkin
→ The Fall of Math Focusing on instrumental post-rock with live and electronic percussion, 65daysofstatic is based in Sheffield, England. The band, whose name originates from an unreleased John Carpenter film, formed in 2001 as a trio (Joe Shrewsbury, Paul Wolinski, and Iain Armstrong). Armstrong left in May 2003 and by the end of the year Rob Jones (drums) and Gareth Hughes (bass) were added. The band released three albums: The Fall of Math (2004), One Time for All Time (2005), and The Destruction of Small Ideas (2007).
REVIEW
By Larry Day, 02 September 2013; Score: 8/10
→ Sheffield post–rockers 65daysofstatic have always been adept at sculpting the most vivid, dysphoric soundscapes; crammed with stings of brutal math axes, serrated synths writhing like pythons, and a ferocious scattershot of both live and electronic percussion, they’re always intense, passionate and vivid. It’s more than enough to incite tachycardia. Their music is the sort of elaborate no–holds–barred blanket of doom–riddled sounds that veers towards a pitch black abyss.
→ With this powerful noise, they conjure mirages of alien worlds ravaged by war, dystopian cities plagued with futuristic woes and the last seconds before annihilation. → Apocalyptic is too weak a term.
→ The music they weave is so tangible and immersive, you’ll be suffocated; it’s not for the claustrophobic among us.
→ Leaving their alternative OST to sci–fi classic Silent Running aside, the last time we had a full-length studio record from the four–piece was 2010, in the form of We Were Exploding Anyway, which spawned ‘Close To Me’ (featuring Robert Smith) and ‘Dance Dance Dance’, two tracks which demonstrated their impending stylistic swerve. Famed for using only organic instruments live, they began implementing electronic elements such as sampling, drum machines and synths. It was a fresh take on their sound, and one they expand upon during their fifth outing together, Wild Light.
→ Opener ‘Heat Death Infinity Splitter’, with a title that sounds like a lost Biffy Clyro B-side, sets out the terms of this record in its beginning bars, with one of the rare instances in 65daysofstatic’s back arsenal that involves the human voice: “No one knows what is happening. No one knows what is happening. There is a lot of danger out there. Okay?” But, where there’d normally be a roaring avalanche of guitar fuzz and cataclysmic percussion, we receive what sounds like a supercomputer singing the lament of its own demise. There’s a hymnal quality to the synth buzz. Beats are slow and purposeful, all the fat is trimmed on the ascent to the pinnacle of the track. Eventually, the 65daysofstatic we know and love erupts, injecting surreptitiously a trove of musical strands, complicating the robotic aria. As the denouement approaches, there’s no sweet relief, no hell unleashed. They sustain a tension and just let it drop off rather than exploding as per their norm.
→ Echoing the jitters of ‘Retreat Retreat’ or ‘Fix The Sky A Little’, ‘Prisms’ rattles inside a synth–made cage. Percussion skitters like beetles. Synths again dominated the melodics, and it’s becoming quite apparent that their fondness for guitars won’t be as prevalent a theme on Wild Light. ‘Prisms’ is fragmented, sometimes recalling a James Blake-y tranquillity, sometimes evoking memories of the distant and mechanised glow of Eastern European dance parties. While intense, it’s not as extrovert as previous records have been — there’s an intimacy, and rather than signalling Armageddon, the conflicts here are more personal. It’s an emotional rapture.
→ There are cuts that fit their mould better — ‘Unmake The Wild Light’ and ‘Sleepwalk City’ for example (the latter owning a chord progression not dissimilar to Eminem’s ‘Like Toy Soldiers’) — that are left in the dust. It’s not that they’re bad in any way, but their genre development and sonic progression means that the more forward-thinking efforts tend to hog a bit more of the spotlight.
→ However, regardless of how good or bad any individual track is, for 65daysofstatic that’s irrelevant. While you can digest their outputs in little chunks, you’ll never really appreciate a track of theirs without listening to it in the context of the album. They carve computerized operas for the future, and removing a single portion and isolating it won’t give you the full emotional thwack. When appreciated as one singular product, Wild Light is stunning — it’s a barrage of non-stop energy, and features a kind of intensity that only this band can muster. There’s no ‘big singles’ in this symphony, it’s one vital 50 minute long experience. The band have structured the album to begin with a more cautious, chilled tone, and as the LP wears on, it blossoms and grows. There’s a theatricality on offer when it’s heard in one sitting.
→ Wild Light isn’t their best album — it would take a mighty feat to surpass their debut, The Fall Of Math — but it is an incredible effort. There are few bands with such control over your mind. This is a solid addition to their jaw-dropping canon, proving that there’s plenty more on offer from 65daysofstatic, and that they can take an ailing genre like post-rock and, with a dash of pizazz, make it the most bewitching thing on the planet. (http://thefourohfive.com/)
Website: http://www.65daysofstatic.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/65dos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/65propaganda
Press:
Agent:
________________________________________________________________
DISCOGRAPHY:
Albums:
• The Fall of Math (September 2004)
• One Time for All Time (October 2005)
• The Destruction of Small Ideas (April 2007) N° 151 UK
• We Were Exploding Anyway (April 2010) N° 99 UK
• Wild Light (September 2013)
Soundtracks:
• Silent Running (November 2011)
Live Albums:
• Escape from New York (Double disc — Live and DVD) (April 2009)
Singles and EPs:
• "Stumble.Stop.Repeat" (EP) (December 2003)
• "Retreat! Retreat!" (November 2004)
• "Hole" (EP) (March 2005)
• "Radio Protector" (February 2006)
• "Don't Go Down to Sorrow" (March/April 2007)
• "The Distant and Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties" (April 2008)
• "Weak4" (March 2010)
• "Crash Tactics" (April 2010)
• "Heavy Sky" (EP) (October 2010)
Unreleased/Unreleasable:
• Volume 1: 65's.late.nite.double-a-side.college.cut-up.trailers.for.the.looped.future. (May 2003)
• Volume 2: How I Fucked Off All My Friends (March 2005)
• Volume 3: The Kids Have Eyes (DVD) (October 2005)
B-sides and Rarities:
• Volume 1: Then We Take Japan (CD + DVD) (November 2006) (Released in Japan only)
Unofficial:
• RMXSCEE (2008) (A collection of remixes by the band)
________________________________________________________________
65daysofstatic — Wild Light (2013) |
65daysofstatic — Wild Light
→ Focusing on instrumental post–rock with live and electronic percussion, 65daysofstatic is based in Sheffield, England. The band, whose name originates from an unreleased John Carpenter film called Stealth Bomber.
Formed: 2001 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Location: Sheffield, England, UK
Album release: Monday, 16 September, 2013
Record Label: Superball Music/Bird´s Robe Records/Zankyo
Duration: 55:29
Tracks:
1. Heat Death Infinity Splitter (5:07)
2. Prisms (5:58)
3. The Undertow (6:32)
4. Blackspots (7:30)
5. Sleepwalk City (6:54)
6. Taipei (6:00)
7. Unmake the Wild Light (6:24)
8. Safe Passage (5:58)
9. Doxxx Yrself (iTunes Bonus Track) (5:06)
→ All songs written by Robert Jones / Joe Shrewsbury / Paul Wolinski / Simon Wright.
Group Members:
→ Gareth Hughes
→ Iain Armstrong
→ Joe Shrewsbury
→ Paul Wolinski
→ Rob Jones
→ Simon Wright
Lineup included:
→ Shrewsbury (guitar)
→ Wolinski (guitar, programming)
→ Jones (drums)
→ Simon Wright (bass, programming)
Artist Biography by Kenyon Hopkin
→ The Fall of Math Focusing on instrumental post-rock with live and electronic percussion, 65daysofstatic is based in Sheffield, England. The band, whose name originates from an unreleased John Carpenter film, formed in 2001 as a trio (Joe Shrewsbury, Paul Wolinski, and Iain Armstrong). Armstrong left in May 2003 and by the end of the year Rob Jones (drums) and Gareth Hughes (bass) were added. The band released three albums: The Fall of Math (2004), One Time for All Time (2005), and The Destruction of Small Ideas (2007).
REVIEW
By Larry Day, 02 September 2013; Score: 8/10
→ Sheffield post–rockers 65daysofstatic have always been adept at sculpting the most vivid, dysphoric soundscapes; crammed with stings of brutal math axes, serrated synths writhing like pythons, and a ferocious scattershot of both live and electronic percussion, they’re always intense, passionate and vivid. It’s more than enough to incite tachycardia. Their music is the sort of elaborate no–holds–barred blanket of doom–riddled sounds that veers towards a pitch black abyss.
→ With this powerful noise, they conjure mirages of alien worlds ravaged by war, dystopian cities plagued with futuristic woes and the last seconds before annihilation. → Apocalyptic is too weak a term.
→ The music they weave is so tangible and immersive, you’ll be suffocated; it’s not for the claustrophobic among us.
→ Leaving their alternative OST to sci–fi classic Silent Running aside, the last time we had a full-length studio record from the four–piece was 2010, in the form of We Were Exploding Anyway, which spawned ‘Close To Me’ (featuring Robert Smith) and ‘Dance Dance Dance’, two tracks which demonstrated their impending stylistic swerve. Famed for using only organic instruments live, they began implementing electronic elements such as sampling, drum machines and synths. It was a fresh take on their sound, and one they expand upon during their fifth outing together, Wild Light.
→ Opener ‘Heat Death Infinity Splitter’, with a title that sounds like a lost Biffy Clyro B-side, sets out the terms of this record in its beginning bars, with one of the rare instances in 65daysofstatic’s back arsenal that involves the human voice: “No one knows what is happening. No one knows what is happening. There is a lot of danger out there. Okay?” But, where there’d normally be a roaring avalanche of guitar fuzz and cataclysmic percussion, we receive what sounds like a supercomputer singing the lament of its own demise. There’s a hymnal quality to the synth buzz. Beats are slow and purposeful, all the fat is trimmed on the ascent to the pinnacle of the track. Eventually, the 65daysofstatic we know and love erupts, injecting surreptitiously a trove of musical strands, complicating the robotic aria. As the denouement approaches, there’s no sweet relief, no hell unleashed. They sustain a tension and just let it drop off rather than exploding as per their norm.
→ Echoing the jitters of ‘Retreat Retreat’ or ‘Fix The Sky A Little’, ‘Prisms’ rattles inside a synth–made cage. Percussion skitters like beetles. Synths again dominated the melodics, and it’s becoming quite apparent that their fondness for guitars won’t be as prevalent a theme on Wild Light. ‘Prisms’ is fragmented, sometimes recalling a James Blake-y tranquillity, sometimes evoking memories of the distant and mechanised glow of Eastern European dance parties. While intense, it’s not as extrovert as previous records have been — there’s an intimacy, and rather than signalling Armageddon, the conflicts here are more personal. It’s an emotional rapture.
→ There are cuts that fit their mould better — ‘Unmake The Wild Light’ and ‘Sleepwalk City’ for example (the latter owning a chord progression not dissimilar to Eminem’s ‘Like Toy Soldiers’) — that are left in the dust. It’s not that they’re bad in any way, but their genre development and sonic progression means that the more forward-thinking efforts tend to hog a bit more of the spotlight.
→ However, regardless of how good or bad any individual track is, for 65daysofstatic that’s irrelevant. While you can digest their outputs in little chunks, you’ll never really appreciate a track of theirs without listening to it in the context of the album. They carve computerized operas for the future, and removing a single portion and isolating it won’t give you the full emotional thwack. When appreciated as one singular product, Wild Light is stunning — it’s a barrage of non-stop energy, and features a kind of intensity that only this band can muster. There’s no ‘big singles’ in this symphony, it’s one vital 50 minute long experience. The band have structured the album to begin with a more cautious, chilled tone, and as the LP wears on, it blossoms and grows. There’s a theatricality on offer when it’s heard in one sitting.
→ Wild Light isn’t their best album — it would take a mighty feat to surpass their debut, The Fall Of Math — but it is an incredible effort. There are few bands with such control over your mind. This is a solid addition to their jaw-dropping canon, proving that there’s plenty more on offer from 65daysofstatic, and that they can take an ailing genre like post-rock and, with a dash of pizazz, make it the most bewitching thing on the planet. (http://thefourohfive.com/)
Website: http://www.65daysofstatic.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/65dos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/65propaganda
Press:
Agent:
________________________________________________________________
DISCOGRAPHY:
Albums:
• The Fall of Math (September 2004)
• One Time for All Time (October 2005)
• The Destruction of Small Ideas (April 2007) N° 151 UK
• We Were Exploding Anyway (April 2010) N° 99 UK
• Wild Light (September 2013)
Soundtracks:
• Silent Running (November 2011)
Live Albums:
• Escape from New York (Double disc — Live and DVD) (April 2009)
Singles and EPs:
• "Stumble.Stop.Repeat" (EP) (December 2003)
• "Retreat! Retreat!" (November 2004)
• "Hole" (EP) (March 2005)
• "Radio Protector" (February 2006)
• "Don't Go Down to Sorrow" (March/April 2007)
• "The Distant and Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties" (April 2008)
• "Weak4" (March 2010)
• "Crash Tactics" (April 2010)
• "Heavy Sky" (EP) (October 2010)
Unreleased/Unreleasable:
• Volume 1: 65's.late.nite.double-a-side.college.cut-up.trailers.for.the.looped.future. (May 2003)
• Volume 2: How I Fucked Off All My Friends (March 2005)
• Volume 3: The Kids Have Eyes (DVD) (October 2005)
B-sides and Rarities:
• Volume 1: Then We Take Japan (CD + DVD) (November 2006) (Released in Japan only)
Unofficial:
• RMXSCEE (2008) (A collection of remixes by the band)
________________________________________________________________