Talons

Hollow Realm

Written by: DR on 16/02/2011 23:08:00

As my final promo of 2010 (for the time-being, probably) I bring you Talons, from Hereford, England. Off the back of the buzz a few EPs and 7-inch singles generated, we have "Hollow Realm", their debut. This is all really boring because, you see, I'm running low on note-worthy introductions. Besides, I'd much rather get on to talking about the music itself, which is, in no possible way, shape, stretch, figure or form, by anyone's means, boring.

Simply put, there is nothing simple about Talons. Did you ever listen to early 65daysofstatic material and think to yourself "if only it were more chaotic"? Because that's what Talons are; okay, it's unfair to use one of UK music's greatest bands of the past twenty years as a point of comparison for this still fresh band... or is it?

Talons are complete chaos, but where we've seen many bands try so hard to make a name for themselves early in their career by being as out of left-field as possible, this sextet feel as though they constantly have a seasoned handle on what they're doing. It's a chaos they're always firmly in control of. First listen of a song like opener "St. Mary Will Be The Death Of Us All" will seem initially daunting; the build-up of ambience leading into a barrage of rolling drums, the crash into a wall of sound with added violins in the background that all together promises something bright and hopeful, until the guitars start to distort and things start to get a little crazy. From then on, there's a startling disregard for any conventional manner of song-construction. That is Talons in a nutshell.

"Hollow Realm" is so furious, so bizzarely breath-taking that you dare not look away. Therein lies, what some may regard as, an ache; you could almost say it holds itself back. The time signatures are complex, the tempo-changes jarring and shifts between various dynamics so insane, that it allows the listener no time to settle on any sort of melody before it's off on another tangent.

They capture your imagination without completely capturing your attention. Awe will be inspired, that's a certainty, but there aren't enough of those magic-moments in songs that keep you coming back to them, time after time, to truly propel this release into the great scores. That said, it's very easy to forget that this is a debut - and there hasn't been a debut album this thrilling in the instrumental scene for some time.

8

Download: In The Shadows Of Our Stilted Homes, St. Mary Will Be The Death Of Us All
For The Fans of: 65daysofstatic, And So I Watch You From Afar, Russian Circles, Rolo Tomassi
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 23.11.2010
Topshelf Records

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