For their fourth EP, US lo-fi/anti-folk duo Vacation take on some familiar – and not-so-familiar – tunes by other artists. As Tori Amos proved time and again, you can take the most rocking numbers and reduce them to a minimalist piano ballad with reasonable ease, almost to the point where the once unimaginable becomes predictable. In some ways, Vacation play by a similar rule in that their chosen material gets stripped down and re-imagined in an echoing lo-fi acoustic fashion, but whereas Ms. Amos, Emm Gryner and countless other artists always ensure there was accessibility even within their most bizarre reimaginings, these guys just want to strip things back to their most stark. This results in at least one tune that’s anything but predictable.
GAZPACHO – Demon
After a decade’s worth of interesting material and some prestigious support slots (including a full European tour with Marillion in 2003), Gazpacho showed no sign of running out of creative steam. Their 2012 release, ‘March of Ghosts’ fused elements of Floyd with hefty doses of quieter Porcupine Tree and Pineapple Thief-esque prog to create one of their best albums to date. Two years on from ‘Ghosts’, their eighth studio album ‘Demon’ is a dark and sprawling work, culminating with an eighteen minute showpiece. Again, the element of storytelling is key – in this case, the ramblings of a possessed apartment inhabitant in Prague – but for those who do not wish to be bogged down with concept details, thankfully, the music is captivating enough to be enjoyed on its own terms.
Bob Casale: July 14, 1952 – February 17, 2014
Founding member of Akron, Ohio new wave/electronic band Devo, Bob Casale, passed away on the 17th February 2014 after suffering heart failure.
Chuck Ragan: US tour dates
Sometime member of punk/alt-rock band Hot Water Music, Chuck Ragan is gearing up for a mammoth US tour. No stranger to regular live work, Ragan heads out for a thirty-three date trek in April.
SILVER ARM – He Of The Slow Creep EP
UK four-piece Silver Arm bring plenty of punch and absolutely no padding to their 2014 EP ‘He of the Slow Creep’. The result – four slabs of fantastic guitar driven post-punk noise in a fraction over ten minutes; four numbers showcasing a band who really know how to hit a sound home as directly as possible. Naturally, there’s some obvious recycling from a couple of classic influences along the way, but Silver Arm ensure these sounds will thrill listeners who weren’t even around to hear the first wave of post-punk and goth rock bands in the early eighties.