All posts tagged instrumental

  • The Weekend Australian album review: The Necks – ‘Mindset’, November 2011

    An album review for The Australian, reproduced below in its entirety.

    The Necks – Mindset

    On their 16th album, this Sydney-based trio opt for two 21-minute long tracks rather than the singular instrumental piece that characterises most of their past releases.

    The opener, Rum Jungle, is a claustrophobic jam laced with menacing bass notes, jarring piano chords and insistent cymbal-tapping.

    It’s a consuming piece of work; from the initial five-minute mess of noise emerges some flighty piano progressions and, later, a fiercely strummed electric guitar – a rarity among the Necks’ overarching modus operandi, which is best captured in the title of their 1998 live album, Piano Bass Drums.

    Rum Jungle is thematically similar to their previous release, 2009’s Silverwater, in that its sustained creepiness invokes a sense in the listener of being constantly on edge.

    Track two, Daylights, marks a distinct shift in mood; its gentle, noir-like atmosphere is a breath of fresh air. Its gradual uncoiling has more in common with the soothing perpetual motion of their 2003 release Drive By, which won the trio an ARIA for best jazz album.

    This contrast between light and shade works well, and the absence of a narrator invites listeners to fill in the gaps themselves. Mindset is a fine addition to one of the most consistent catalogues in contemporary Australian music.

    LABEL: Fuse
    RATING: 3 ½ stars

    This review was originally published in The Weekend Australian Review on November 26. It’s my first album review for the paper. For more on The Necks, visit their website.

  • Mess+Noise EP review: Mr. Maps – ‘Nice Fights’, August 2010

    An EP review for Mess+Noise.

    Mr. Maps - Nice Fights EP coverMr. MapsNice Fights

    Never a band to care for conventional wisdom or industry standards, Brisbane-based instrumental rock act Mr. Maps have limited this double A-side single – a teaser for their debut album, due later this year – to just 250 copies, and printed the cover on antique pianola paper to offer each payer a unique design. From the hammered-on clean guitar motif to the stomach-turning tempo changes and the subdued, cello-led midsection, the title track is immediately representative of the group’s vision and ability. ‘Nice Fights’ meanders organically, taking its time to unveil the beauty within.

    The momentary pause toward the end of ‘Fly You Monumental Mistake’, however, is this EP’s dramatic apex. Everything before this point seems like padding for this money shot. In the one-second window that bucks the trend of streaming guitars and tumultuous drumming, Mr. Maps shine.

    Full review at Mess+Noise, where you can also stream the track ‘Nice Fights’.

    More Mr. Maps at MySpace. They’re great.