Souterrain Transmissions (label)
16 August 2010 (released)
15 August 2010
Put this on expecting another Indie/grunge/Electro ‘thing’ but what I got was 10 brilliantly crafted pop-heavy numbers with great melodies, real hooks and some excellent playing. Illinois has really delivered this time.
Ashton & Caleb Bird seem to have completely ignored the standard forms and gone for something that could have been around in the late sixties, early seventies or at any time in the late nineties in that it defines its own form and through the space of this albums 10 tracks it manages to redefine itself on almost every track. Ashton is a super drummer and Caleb has discovered the baritone guitar and that manages to deliver a much heavier sound than the normal Strat, almost akin to the early Surf bands – I think Dick Dale used one – but well matched to his brother’s powerhouse drumming.
Bizarrely, I get a distinct impression of old British Blues-Prog bands from their sound – the sax-heavy tones of Colosseum or the fuzzed guitar of King Crimson but that is well matched by the spaceiness of numbers like ‘Distant Airways’ which builds into a monstrous cataclysm of synths and sax over killer drums and that bass-heavy fuzzed guitar sound – if I had to listen to one track on this album it has to be that one.
At the other end of the spectrum – and the album – ‘The Future’ features all the power and majesty of the band with high-spectrum vocals that really cut across the power and create something very much different.
A few people will find the ethereal harmonies and sub-Pixies vocals weak but personally I rate them as setting the music into a different space to so many heavy bands and I would love to see them live – British gigs in October apparently – to see how the vocals work live.
I also love the cover – great pisstake of Easy Rider and it would make a great poster in its own right.
FREE DOWNLOAD:
LIGHTS IN LINES - http://www.souterraintransmissions.com/media/mp3/17700/17700.mp3
