65daysofstatic

We Were Exploding Anyway

Written by: DR on 11/07/2010 17:44:56

Could anybody really argue my claim that 65daysofstatic are the most underrated band in Britain today? Armed with a unique perspective on post-rock which has earned them critical acclaim and a loyal following, their career has spanned almost a decade since inception in 2001. Thus far, commercial success has been hard to come by. Perhaps this is because they've yet to really explore outside of the niche they crafted for themselves. How well would the masses really take to the complex guitar-lines, sudden time signature changes and jagged tempo shifts? "We Were Exploding Anyway" is this quintet's fourth album, and one people will surely find the most accessible to date.

It's a big creative step for 65dos. They are dipping their toes in other, more crowded waters, as they are playfully experimenting with dancey electronics, broken beats and drum samples. Veteran fans don’t fret. Although with one foot they are conquering new ground, with the other they remain rooted to the sound of previous albums. The guitar patterns that made you wish you could play the guitar as well as them, or even at all, are still very much present, as the offbeat drums. However, the emergence of said electronica causes them all to be less frenzied in their more withdrawn role, focusing on the creation of atmospherics – not something their previous albums boasted – which ultimately helps construct a sound of great texture and of multiple layers.

They open with “Mountainhead”, an astute choice to welcome the listener as broken beats and driving guitars interchange to the point that this song is almost a bridge between this album and the last, “The Destruction of Small Ideas”. “Crash Tactics” ushers in the new sound seamlessly; it is evident 65dos are still 65dos at the heart of this record, because it has that same manic unpredictability constructed by careful attention to detail every song is given. “Go Complex” is a mammoth of a dance track Pendulum fans will find some familiarity within and surely eat up. “Come To Me (ft. Robert Smith)” (‘”Disintegration” is the best album ever!’) is the apex of this album; starting with a low, dissonant hum, bringing in bell-esque tapping followed by guitar and piano. Shortly, Robert Smith’s instantly recognisable, despite smeared with effects, vocals start and the song begins to pound, thrash and convulse with all the energy of a dance anthem yet maintaining an underlying flow of post-rock build ups. Between that, the ten-minute epic “Tiger Girl” and “Piano Fights”, a new era of a post-rock combining electronic dance beats and guitar-fuelled crescendos may have been spawned.

What “We Were Exploding Anyway” represents is that difficult album in an established bands career when they must decide how, if at all, they sound evolve their sound. Bands with genuine brilliance will make the step up revealing their versatility and talent, as is the case here. 65daysofstatic continue to progress and astound, confirming themselves as true artists at the peak of their abilities and at the forefront of genuine, in some ways unrivalled, artistic progression.

Download: Piano Fights, Come To Me (ft. Robert Smith), Go Complex
For The Fans of: And So I Watch You From Afar, Pendulum, The Chemical Brothers
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 26.04.2010
Hassle Records

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