Aeronautix – Eartheption EP
Although they describe themselves a “post-rock” band, this German trio produces something that avoids some of the usual cliches associated with the genre (at least judging by this little EP). Whereas many of post-rock records are anemic, this one kicks in with a boot of steel and a lack of vocalist is more than compensated by a sheer energy that the band demonstrates on “Eartheption”.
And best of all – “Eartheption” is available for download in its entirety (along with a companion remix album) via Aeronautix Bandcamp site, so grab it now!
Further Info: Bandcamp / Last.fm / MySpace / Post-Engineering / The Sirens Sound
Funeral Club – The Year Of The Bloody Sevens
Combining dark theatrics of Nick Cave and Cocteau Twins and an atmosphere of old spaghetti western soundtracks, FC don’t sound much like anyone but themselves. Led by husband/wife Joseph and Jenny Andreotti, they produced numerous EPs (and one full-length) under the name Grizzly Owls before changing it to Funeral Club and producing this album.
“Sevens” doesn’t deviate from the template that the band used on its previous records – its a combination of female vocals, aforementioned theatrics and a slight sense of doom/tragedy hidden within the lyrics. If nothing else, this is a direct application of “if its ain’t broken” principle – while the songs on the album are still as dark and moody as many of their predecessors , the band simply makes everything bigger – the atmosphere, the moodiness and the production.
Musically, it doesn’t seem that FC can do any wrong – they got the original concept/idea and sound more confident with each new release. The only question is – why the name change? Funeral Club reminds me of the kind of name that punk bands or metal bands would use, but it doesn’t seem that it fits the band better than their previous moniker (Grizzly Owls). Other than that – “Sevens” is highly recommended (along with the rest of the band’s material).
Further Info: Funeral Club – RCRDLBL / Funeral Club – MySpace / Funeral Club – Last.fm / Grizzly Owls – Last.fm / Grizzly Owls – Blogspot / Triumphs & Tragedies – Jenny Andreotti’s Blog
Fitful – Concerning Deterioration
Whenever you deal with an album that packs 10 songs into 10 minutes, its logical to assume that it would fall under grindcore, experimental or noise category. “Detention” by Ohio-based Fitful is no exception – its a concept album about deterioration of 10 acquaintances and it all sounds like a deliberate attack on the listener.
Its not a very convincing attack, though, although everything seems to be in place. Angry vocals? Check. Pummeling drums? Check. Raging guitars? Check. Still, there’s a lot of bands that also do the same thing out here and for all of their intents and purposes, Fitful don’t really do all that much to separate themselves from the rest of their brethren.
The album might sound shocking the first time when you listen to it, but the then it all turns comical when you realize that all songs sound almost exactly the same and once you heard one of them, you probably heard them all. Perhaps an addition of little variation/dynamics is in order, but as it stands, “Concerning Deterioration”sounds virtually indistinguishable from other records of its kind.
Further Info: Bandcamp / Last.fm