Some more fine French fancies from Lost In Kyiv and their new album We're All Going To Be Fine, over a decade of post rock excellence continues with this latest release that seamless integrates cavernous enveloping riffs and twitching electronic ambience.
This new record taking down a heavier/darker path than before, one that has been spearheaded by them looking inward for inspiration, drawing from their own lives to craft personal and emotional songs that delve into the less upbeat parts of their collective psyches then transferred into music that has also been inspired by Carl Gustav Jung.
A refocus rather than a reinvention, We're All Going Yo Be Fine is a record that the band describe as "the first record of a new version of the band", which has lead the name change from Kiev to Kyiv because if that's the way the Ukrainian capital describes itself then this change is reflected in the more tumultuous atmospheres on this record.
With so many "post" bands dynamics are at the heart of what they do and Lost In Kyiv master dynamism with every cut on this record, with electronic and analogue instrumentation weaving into each other throughout.
There's acoustic beauty, pulsating breakbeat, waves of synth melody, repeating clean guitars lines but also bigger and louder distorted riffs that take the band into those more ominous, metallic tones. The addition of their new drummer, giving them more powerful grooves powered by adrenaline and even aggression, while the guest vocals of Rebecca Need-Menear on Becoming again brings another dynamic to their sound.
We're All Going To Be Fine is a record from a band who were in a state of flux, but have slowly and carefully rebuilt themselves into a more potent force that has a stronger connection with their audience. 8/10
Oh Hiroshima - And The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter (Pelagic Records)
The duo of Jakob Hemström (guitar/bass/vocals) and Oskar Nilsson (drums and percussion) have been refining their full spectrum musical approach for years now, the Swedish based band curate a place for cinematic introspection, intensity builds, emotions are driven by the colossal soundscapes and soulful vocals.
Oh Hiroshima make music that climbs, like a slow ascent up a musical mountain, they take cues from Mike Oldfield and his ability to layer repeating rhythms over each other as another step of the journey. Inspired by T. S. Eliott's The Wasteland, there's a sense of hopelessness to the album that is communicated through these eight songs, an innate sadness for a failing world where guitars and drums are joined by stirring strings.
There's also moments that spark joy and hope, the feeling that perhaps we can change the world, The Tree Of Life leaning on Celtic tones while Broken Sunlight goes through flute driven grunge while Exit Cloud features organs, orchestras, electronics, horns and the biggest riffs of the record to close it out.
And The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter is an album that features musical complexity and emotional turmoil, a lament for the world explored through expansive music and emotive vocals, Oh Hiroshima continue to impress. 7/10
Hanry - What Came From Silence (Pelagic Records)
Another instrumental post rock group now with What Came From Silence by Hanry.
Despite only being formed in 2022 they have already positioned themselves as ones to watch in the world of post rock, so with their debut album they look to firmly define themselves as a band with it. Written and recorded during a harsh winter in Brittany, the fierceness and isolation of this process can be felt on this album.
It's a record where all the songs begin in cold and frigid tundra' but build into luminous vistas as the introspection evolves into acceptance, the band say: "What Came From Silence is a meditation on emergence, on how resonance is born from restraint, how sound gathers weight from quiet beginnings" which in my view sums up the album perfectly.
A virtuoso five piece that share a musical bond that's is strong across the record, a trio of guitars create the lush layered effect of melodies, harmonising and counteracting with the hand picked synths to make sure that this is the sound they want to be associated with, never over-complicating anything but defining their approach with the multiple guitars, synth lines and cello while the drums are propulsive and create spatial awareness beneath it all.
They also credit the addition of pianist Mariposa as bringing extra depth, for me though their mastery of electronic music is what makes this record exciting, inspired by Explosion In The Sky, Boards of Canada, and even Massive Attack, a track like Remains could be an easy entry into that 90's synth/triphop scene as would Time's Collapsing.
Their blending of electronica and post rock give a Hanry a unique position on the post rock scene, signing to Pelagic has helped them discover how creative they can be with their debut album. 7/10
Million Moons - You Be Good, I Love You (Ripcord Records/Dunk! Records/A Thousand Arms Music)
Continuing my current run of reviewing mainly post rock/metal, I have some animal conscious post metal from Scotland/London based band Million Moons.
On their new album You Be Good, I Love You, they approach it with the idea that animals are "different, yes—but never less than" their human counterparts.
I'd have to agree as I've had more intelligent and profound conversations with animals than many humans over the years but I digress as this album takes things further than I could have, delivering into consciousness. The title coming from the last words of parrot who learnt to communicate with his handlers developing a consciousness of his own, away from animals.
Outside of the band they are all very much involved in conservation so these themes are very close to their hearts, leading to songs that are there to inform rather than rebuke, though it's Secret Histories that does point the finger through the record heaviest moment.
Their music is a selection of structured soundscapes that are meant to reflect certain animals, the swooping movements of flocks of birds, the stillness of floating iridescent sea creatures, the epic journeys of mammals and even on Echoes In The Abyss, the 52-hertz-frequency call of whale 52 Blue.
Guitars are used for intricate but soaring melodies, the rhythm section thunders and floats, letting moments of heaviness consume, while when stripped back allowing the groove to settle in.
Electronics bristle and the band have also brought in sax and organ to swell their cinematic sound, captured by Lewis Johns (Rolo Tomassi, Slow Crush, Employed To Serve) who makes sure every single moment of this bright and bold record can be heard. 8/10
On their new album You Be Good, I Love You, they approach it with the idea that animals are "different, yes—but never less than" their human counterparts.
I'd have to agree as I've had more intelligent and profound conversations with animals than many humans over the years but I digress as this album takes things further than I could have, delivering into consciousness. The title coming from the last words of parrot who learnt to communicate with his handlers developing a consciousness of his own, away from animals.
Outside of the band they are all very much involved in conservation so these themes are very close to their hearts, leading to songs that are there to inform rather than rebuke, though it's Secret Histories that does point the finger through the record heaviest moment.
Their music is a selection of structured soundscapes that are meant to reflect certain animals, the swooping movements of flocks of birds, the stillness of floating iridescent sea creatures, the epic journeys of mammals and even on Echoes In The Abyss, the 52-hertz-frequency call of whale 52 Blue.
Guitars are used for intricate but soaring melodies, the rhythm section thunders and floats, letting moments of heaviness consume, while when stripped back allowing the groove to settle in.
Electronics bristle and the band have also brought in sax and organ to swell their cinematic sound, captured by Lewis Johns (Rolo Tomassi, Slow Crush, Employed To Serve) who makes sure every single moment of this bright and bold record can be heard. 8/10
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