Okay, so once again I’ve allowed this website to fall into neglect. Incredibly irresponsible digital media promotion on my part. It will not happen again. (It might happen again.)
But I am breathing new life into this thing for a great cause, we have a crazy good show coming down the pipes this coming Friday, at our home base, the always lovely Quenchers Saloon.
The reason for the season will be the unveiling of our Wisconsin allies Canyons of Static‘s killer new record Farewell Shadows.
The reviews for this record are amazing, here’s what Terapija had to say about it: Iako sviraju već preko deset godina, američki Canyons of Static, objavili su tek dva albuma, no uz to i pregršt ep-ova i singlova. Sudeći po novom “Farewell Shadows”, spremni su vinuti se do prve lige ovakvih bendova…
For you freaky people who don’t speak Croatian here’s some glowing words from post-rock standard bearer The Silent Ballet: The band has persisted in the post-rock trade for over a half-decade now, and its second album, Farewell Shadows, isn’t afraid to put forth its best effort at becoming the new king of the genre. Strong melodies are front and center on the album, and from the beginning it is pretty clear that the band intends to work within the standard frame of the genre – and that’s fine. The Disappearance, the band’s debut album, was a bit heavier on the fuzz and distortion than previous works had been, which indicated a shoegaze inspiration might begin to overtake the band’s work. Farewell Shadows quells that idea, for better or worse, although certain elements still remain. For example, Canyons of Static’s climaxes aren’t nearly as powerful as one might expect. Generally, we’ll see a dominance of guitar and pedal effects during the climax, signifying the great cathartic point in the track, but Farewell Shadows turns it down just a notch and lets all the instruments shine together. I have no doubt that this is completely a studio effect and that the live show would tell a much different story; nonetheless, it gives the music a less barbaric, more sophisticated air. Across the board, the production on this album is much better than we’ve previously heard from Canyons, and we’re beginning to really hear the band sound as good as it probably always has been.
Damn. Well that’s all fine and good, but shouldn’t there be at least one music video ahead of this release to provide a discriminating listener with some sort of preview? No. There’s two:
Yeah, so the opportunity to buy this record will be worth the price of admission in and of itself. But wait, there’s more!
Rounding out this bill will be one of our local favorites, the lovely Whales. This will be their first appearance of the new year, and we’re excited that they decided for it to be part of this show.
Here’s what Loud Loop Press has to say: Chicago’s own noise rockers Whales are what I imagine Sonic Youth would sound like if it actively tried to mimic whale sounds. The song “Salt” from Whales self-titled album certainly emits that vibe of glorious creatures communicating through the water. Maybe it’s the antibiotics talking, but the low, echoy guitars and bass notes mixed with Maigin Black’s [sic] more thoughtful and lost-in-the-atmosphere vocal style (that is really akin to Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead than Kim Gordon) feels perfect for a relaxation tape. Either way you look at it, the band is doing something pretty special.
Show ‘em how you do it guys (and gal):
For our own part, we will be playing our unnamed upcoming EP in its entirety for the first time, which we are very excited and anxious about. Pre-production will start on that thing next week. There will be more news to follow on that than you could ever desire.
Some nerdy fun with statistics: This will be our 19th show, our sixth with Canyons of Static, our fourth with Whales, and our sixth at Quenchers. While this is the second time we’ve shared a bill with both bands, we’ve never played with either at Q’s. How suitable that we’ll finally rectify that for something as grand as the Farewell Shadows release (the fourth record release we’ve participated in).
Okay enough of that, see you all on Friday!
