The Ambivalent

Are You Ambivalent?

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Los Angeles based energy and heavy groove that just melts in the ears. With a punchy style, the delivery of rock is comparable to punk or grunge however The Ambivalent carry a sense of musical accomplishment neither of these genres could. Unafraid to plunge into avenues on all sides of the compass of the riff, this trio show off their new EP, Are You Ambivalent? After establishing their sound in 2012 and having toured Europe and the States only last year, we find their material tight, crisp and expertly crafted.

Hear the Way I Hear It, the opening number, drifts in like a cruising motorcycle. A little flick of the drum kit, a bluesy riff with some dirty distortion and then vocals not too dissimilar to The Rolling Stones. The urgency of the melody knitted emotively into the drum structure describes a fantastic beat for guitar riffs to explore in hair in the wind fashion. Perhaps pulling into a campsite, our motorcycle ride smooths over to great the folky Careless. Reminding us of the sorrow of lost friendships but the joy of finding new ones. Life shifts around us, and so does this track. Keyboards add new layers, the rhythm offers more depth and the lyrics become more abstractly personal. A delightful acoustic swerve until morning.

Nothing better than a Cup of Coffee to wake us up, and if this next song doesn’t feature on a TV ad soon, it’ll at least be shifting bodies on dancefloors as it’s a stunner. A cheeky lick  is always a wonderful idea when we’re having fun, and this hands over the goods in a musical romp of funky heaviness. Saw Her Standing there, brings nostalgic memories of being infatuated with an early crush, it encapsulates the frantic butterflies of curiosity we feel at this young but matured age of early adulthood. The skills of the band shine with a quick time and densely populated bars of bass.

Your Words carries the flag of anger, but it’s rising above it. If we listen, we see the banner of betterment riding the breeze. A choppy guitar swims around as the punching keys swing for us in between verses. I can’t help love this one, it’s got a gravity that causes me to orbit some invisible point in the centre of my skull. The EP ends with Wait Until. Reducing speed once, more, the power doesn’t fade. As the engine is revving, we can appreciate the beauty in its pulse. Nothing is taken away, but we add something sexy. A leather finish, chrome, a polished tank and B-road twisting and turning remind us this is a group of multi-faceted talent.


Rowan Blair Colver

If You Kept On Spiralling

EP 2

Young Sheffield talent on the psychedelic rock scene, If You Kept On Spiralling bring a new breed of space-grunge to our listener’s doorstep with EP2. It brings emotively composed high energy post-rock, garnished with a delicious nineties nostalgia.

The rolling stone from Temple of Doom springs to mind as the ‘arms in the air’ melody cuts in from the ambience which marks the beginning of this EP. A happy pulsing bass frames expertly placed percussion work as sunshine riffs endow the vocalist whose distorted musings echo and reverberate in classic man-feels style.

A quality beyond the usual, although created with shoe strings and cello-tape, a lifetime of young talent shows once again that it’s the human being that makes art, not how much cash we chuck on the corporate fire. Sure, if these guys want their sound to reach all who would love it, they’ll need a bit of a shove, and let’s face it, by the sound of this EP their momentum is catching.

Soundtracks of summery memories seem to play in my mind as the funky guitar effects springboard from crash cymbals and lyrics anyone can sing along to. I can envisage If You Kept On Spiralling playing to large crowds and enjoying the sea of spectators merging with the sound in a swell of body and voice. It’s fresh, it’s fun and it seems to fit nicely into my tastes from many directions all at once. I’m slightly overwhelmed by quality.

You can hear their work on bandcamp, EP2 is available to buy as an mp3 download for what you are prepared to give.   

Rowan Blair Colver

RIVAL CONSOLES SONNE EP
ERASED TAPES RECORDS

Originally printed in Now Then Magazine Issue 78 in September 14

A mycelium of click track groove swells into fruition to create a trance-like swirl of sound. Ryan Lee West, aka Rival Consoles, returns with Sonne, following on from last year’s Odyssey EP. Moody interludes and swelling string synths are enveloped by cheeky electro blips and pops which saturate the offbeat breaks.

The modestly titled ‘3 Chords’ open with a swooping bass delivery only a stone’s throw from the dancefloor. This swift but smooth race through the mind of a musician creates an enchanting experience. The relaxed and pleasant sensation of ‘Recovery’ soon builds into something more. A funky rhythmic drive gives a framework for crystalline bells to play their smooth and delicate melodies.

The ability to create a feeling of depth and emotive introspection with a chord change is astonishing. With the skill knitted into the formation of each bar, my mind is treated to something unique in the aptly titled ‘Haunt’. It’s spooky but beautiful. Perhaps my inner goth is raising its murky head.

I get memories of Moby with the chilled but slightly frantic undertones. Expert psychology brings music into its own league as my mind is swung from left to right with a pressurising beat of numerical perfection served with a holistic glow. Towards the end of the EP the colours really begin to fly, as although temperate and mild, the passion is in the detail.

As a sculptor of the sound wave and an engraver of the beat, Rival Consoles is defining the term ‘musical artist’ with precision and clarity. Taking care of the feeling of every synthetic note, West leaves no edge uncrafted.

Rowan Blair Colver

NLF3 PINK RENAISSANCE
PROHIBITED RECORDS

Originally printed in Now Then Magazine Issue 79 in October 14

Billed as a soundtrack album, upon hearing I instantly knew what they meant. Pink Renaissance is a storyboard of sound. NLF3 return onto the scene with a polar opposite personality. After producing Beast Me in 2011, this next epoch swiftly ditches the doom and gloom and replaces it with slinky and beautifully jilted pinpoints of melody. Crisp and warm instruments mix expertly with layers of experimental electronica without breaking into a sweat. Drama unfolds, then the full flavour of the album is delivered on the tip of the spoon. Moody yet bright, off we go into a dreamy world of awkward rhythmic enjoyment.

Giving myself a moment to picture the images which this music may accompany, I am suddenly surrounded by dancing paper cut-out people, moving on their split pin limbs in cartoon strangeness. An epic transportation from my sofa, but it doesn’t last long. I find myself seeing the band perform. The instruments begin to personify the musicians and become independent from the sound. Round the back of some plaza, in a dusty ally reserved for those in the know, a small bar sits with two buzzing neon lights on the door. This is where I picture the music coming from, enchanting those wise enough to avoid the herd and the extravagance behind the golden curtain.

With feels likened to those of Pink Floyd and related period acid folk woven through bars of jazzy frills and choral mists, the album covers all bases but doesn’t speed around the circuit. On a leisurely stroll, we pass light and dark elements of life, but from the perspective of a happy ghost revisiting much loved memories.

Rowan Blair Colver

JIM GHEDI DESTROY ALL YOUR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS
AUDACIOUS ART EXPERIMENT

Originally printed in Now Then Magazine Issue 80 in November 14

As someone who has made electronic music, when I first clasped my ear drums on this, I immediately realised this was a labour not just of love but of almost hypnotic devotion. The feeling of order from chaos that carries the whole album is mind bending. ‘Nevermind how he got there,’ was my inevitable answer, and I began to listen to it as an admirer.

The soul of the instrument, its taste and colour is what Jim Ghedi has found to be his muse. Rather than notes, melodies and scales, Destroy All Your Earthly Possessions gets around those roadblocks to provide a deeper and richer experience.

The perfect accompaniment to strong black coffee on a French boulevard, or on headphones while walking at night, this album is edgy. Flourishes of drama teeter on the brink of anticipating sampled sounds which bring an energy similar to dreaming. String and wind instruments are played to their boundaries, and when they fuse together for a brief splash in ‘Motion’, a rare symphonic climax is reached.

Like a piece of abstract art, from a distance it seems unfunctioning, but once you look harder and follow your senses, the conversation with the artist begins. Track titles like ‘Fatherless’ and ‘Patti’s Book, Window Seat’ reveal the unmistakeable work of a poet in music. The flow and cadence of the album is like metered verse, and as a whole this album can have you drifting into a romantic trance. Ending with the enticingly named ‘Arrival/Friends Embrace’, this universally familiar moment nudges us to make amends with our social lives.

Rowan Blair Colver

ARCA XEN
MUTE RECORDS

Originally printed in Now Then Magazine Issue 81 from December 14

Delicate electronica, laced with a tingling anticipation, Xen is an album of short, snappy and beautiful moments. The experience throws us directly into the storm with the spicy, pretty but harsh ‘Now You Know’. Like brightly coloured clothes, the opener is set to impress and extrovertly introduces the feel of what is inside.

Excitingly moody leaps from pulsing melodic rhythms to sheer banging noise really make this album something to explore. Because of its choppy nature, it’s difficult to memorise and become familiar with, but I like this. Albums can become overheard and this one doesn't take that risk. The creative palette on offer is one of a true composer. 
Riffs that sound like a dreamy Vangelis broken down with modern loop scoring help something that began way back in the 20th century extend from its roots, split in the trunk and branch out into a lush organism. Each piece of musical time is used to its potential, and missing beats and purposeful mistiming launch the listener into a realm of drama. Lyrics need not apply.

Aquamarine scenes of underwater orchestras come to mind as the tranquil and meandering ‘Failed’ creates a pause in the frantic energy and drive. Swelling from this point, melody takes a forward seat. Movements of nicely mixed space-age keys glide across the surface of beats in ‘Thievery’, the track which accompanies a sensual and evocative video as the first single. An element of childish stealth and secrets captivates the mood of Xen - a passion for exotic flow and drama, a sprinkle of heat, but most of all a solid understanding of what makes every second tick. 

Rowan Blair Colver