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Weekend Music Preview: Woven Bones Tour Kick-Off [Beerland / Friday]
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Skateboarding, BMX, and punk rock have gone hand in hand for quite a few decades now. The most interesting project that is Iglomat isn’t exactly the rock we normally associate with ramps and the like but the act’s down-tempo instrumentals and moments of post-rock bliss have inspired, and in turn found home in quite a few projects in that culture. The brainchild of David Jack (from Portabello, Scotland), Iglomat the record had been in the works for many moons from what we gather. Scott MacDonald (also in Portabello) and Austin-based Sandy Carson complete the Iglomat line-up, and this cross-Atlantic trio worked together for a good amount of time, assembling songs “via satellite till the tune is finished” per Carson. Carson and MacDonald contribute the guitar tracks while Jack is the mastermind behind the beats and bass, and also handles the mixing responsibilities.
Opening track “Dial Wookie” sets the mood with an atmospheric soundscape accentuated by Jack’s samples and a comforting riff. Also the first single off the record, the video for “Dial Wookie” was directed by Mike Manzoori and has aired on MTV in Europe since its release. (Check it out on YouTube.) When not synchronized with the video, the track conjures up images of us relaxing, sipping lemonade in the hammock in our yard but the celestial sounds perfectly sync in with the aerial dynamics of the subject matter to make for a riveting video.
Most of the songs on the record build from sparse instrumentation into soothing soundscapes, all while employing some intriguing samples. Although Iglomat is largely instrumental, the trio does find a place for quite a few spoken word efforts in their work. There is a random weather report that marks “Tornadic Activity” while “Neo War” is arguably the most conventional song on the album and contains a more decipherable vocal presence compared to the voices heard in the “Achtung Kitler” and “Dolphins.” Recently, “Augustus Loop” and “Federal” have been utilized in the two new promotional videos by éS Footwear -- available for your viewing pleasure via the KFM Records YouTube Channel. Want to catch Iglomat live? Your best bet might be a show at the Terrible One Ramp in town; befriend them on MySpace and you’ll surely get the alert!
Iglomat: [MySpace] [Purchase Iglomat]
The intricate sounds of Ghost of the Russian Empire first came to us via the with fiercest demolition EP and introduced us to the band’s astute musicianship and involved song structures. On their debut full-length the mammoth, GOTRE provides further proof of their talent with one moment of layered brilliance after another. “A Decade Without A Death” kicks off the album with a Twin Peaks-esque nuance, preparing us for a somewhat other-wordly feel to the entire project. The ensuing chugging drums and swirling guitars along with Brandon Whitten’s beautifully distorted vocals leave the listener’s ears ringing with echoes of the wall of sound, and the lyrics, albeit a tad hazy, definitely add to the ambiance -- “we will ensure / a war for every generation / and a rank for every man / the forecast calls for sirens.” “Hammer Hands” starts with a mellow, acoustic vibe which again brings Whitten’s voice to the forefront, and by the time “Mandroid” kicks in, we can confirm and begin to appreciate the band’s practice of expertly assembling distant, haunting vocals upon guitar fueled moods.
“Dark” slows down the tempo with an ominous storyline (“you’ll feel it / when it’s your time / like the edge of a knife / it’ll rush over / like a train / and in an instant / leave you bare.”) while “The Winter Soldier” lifts the spirits with its pop smarts. In fact the record largely ebbs and flows in this manner, whirring like a machine going through the various stages of its operations. “The Black Mark” (“drawn on your heart / it won’t disappear / it will only fade / it’ll live on forever”) offers poignancy along with despondent strains from the slide guitar before the title track storms in with a sizzling guitar riff and apocalyptic thoughts. “The White Sea” builds quietly but transports us to shoegaze heaven right after the four and a half minute mark with swiveling six strings that dig deep into the ocean floor and lead to pained cries; eventually culminating with the fading, drowning vocal refrains heard on album closer “The Butcher.”
Erik Wofford, who has worked with a number of local acts such as Voxtrot, Zookeeper, The Black Angels, What Made Milwaukee Famous and Zykos (to name a few!) produced the mammoth. Although a good chunk of the album features dark content, the downtrodden lyrics occasionally offer intrinsic moments of optimism and Whitten’s calm, Thom Yorke-like vocals contribute in negating the effect of the subject matter. However, it is the layered textures, the rumbling reverb, the hum of the machine that marks the mammoth. Regardless of the image evoked by the shadow of the “mammoth” upon a skyline seen on the CD's cover, we figure the album title could refer to a monstrous machine (perhaps one not too dissimilar to some Terminator model.) A machine with a mantra of doom that inadvertently, sonically harnesses the emotions of all it encounters, churning out the band's thorough sound as it continues on. And there’s a ghost in the machine.
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