Long Division

Calm Before

Written by: DR on 31/10/2010 17:48:46

It makes a change for a new band to decide that their bio should actually be a bio, rather than have a bunch of superlatives about how they are crossing the bridges between genres and are about to explode etc. blahblahblah, all in an attempt to try and get noticed. Long Division mention their influences (Explosions In The Sky, Minus The Bear, The Appleseed Cast), state they formed in the winter of 2009, and that they wrote, recorded and then released their debut album "Calm Before" by the May 1st 2010. Why aren't more young bands so modest?

It has six songs, clocking in at 35 minutes long. In terms of sound, it's something between post-rock and math/indie rock. They take an energetic approach which gives them a youthful edge - which lead me to math/indie rock, but they are entirely instrumental, and are cinmatic in doing so, which of course leads me to post-rock. Like most music of this ilk, the guitars are key; they are the focal point of the songs. They hint towards the glorious, occasionally coming very close, but are often found to be too simple, and as a result, your attention to the songs may waver.

The first three songs are the strongest, most confident, and are evidence enough of their potential. "New Fragile" doesn't so much crescendo as gradually introduce the instruments under relatively relaxed guitars; "Alone In Space" has some nice vigorous drum work, which gives a greater up-tempo vibe, adding evidence to my "energetic" tag earlier. "Summer Storms" begins with some decently-executed post-rock riffs and horn-parts in the lull, but takes heads surprisingly into something more 'noisy' - which serves them well.

As mentioned, this is entirely vocal-less, yet some songs just sound like they were intended to be used with vocals. Their absence is particularly felt in the second half of the album. The final three songs are longer than the first three in order to compensate the more spacious post-rock direction is takes, but, they aren't there yet instrumentally to pull off such grand soundscapes.

It's commendable they've managed to write and record this such a short time, you can't help but notice the obvious flaws. But hey, this will be a part of a learning curve for Long Division, and probably a part of a bright future. The first half of the album in particular is worth checking out.

7

Download: Summer Storms, New Fragile
For The Fans of: The Appleseed Cast, Fang Island, Explosions In The Sky
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 01.05.2010
Self-Released

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