You Send Me Things, I Listen to Them – giant gutter from outer space and Coronal Mass Ejection
Sorry about testing the limits for the length of an article title, but two bands sent us some music that is more than worthy of sharing.
Sure, both bands are instrumental, but that’s about all they have in common.
giant gutter from outer space – the edge within
Allergic-to-capital-letters drum and bass duo, giant gutter from outer space, sent us their most recent EP, the edge within. Hailing from Cumto, Brasil, I mean Curitiba, Brazil, these guys bring some weirdness to the table. They will naturally draw some comparisons to Dysrhythmia, but I find they are slightly less hectic, which is good for my tiny brain, but maybe less good to time signature fiends.
Most songs seem to be derived from and centered on a slowly pulsating bassline with “verses” of chaotic drum grooving and funked out rhythms. They lure you in with some consistency, then at the most awkward (in a good way) moment possible, they rip away that security blanket by whiffing a cymbal smash or inserting a pause that makes no sense.
Sometimes the whole song feels like a drum fill, but the actual fills are magnificently odd (see ~ 4:40-:55 of “the strings without”) because they come in during what should be a moment of consistency. The bass tone has just a little touch of fuzz on it to make its down-in-the-gutter lowness more palatable. Getting towards the end of the short 13 minutes, just when you think you have a taste of everything they can provide (so far more gutter than space), they throw some weird chromatic effects in the last minute of “unbound”.
the edge within is their second EP this year, along with a full-length in March. They seem to never stop writing, which is great because they seem to improve with every release. This is a must-have for drum and bass fanatics. This EP is name-your-own-price over on Bandcamp, so pick it up and follow them on Facebook
Coronal Mass Ejection – EP
This instrumental trio from Philadelphia takes some great post-rock stylings and throws in some heavy doom to keep things interesting. This isn’t your standard Scale the Summit shred-off, it’s a solid display of perfectly complex songwriting. As much as the “post” label fits for the sound, it doesn’t carry some of the baggage that turns people off of the genre. While there are a lot of building up sections, it’s actually pretty consistently aggressive. I can hear some hints of Tool influence pop up here and there (see ~3:30 in “S3FB” or the opening to”Scent of the Moon”), but it’s rare enough to not be a bad thing. Overall, it sounds like great music to listen to live, so I am sure they will be crushing the local scene until they have the means to expand.
I almost always try to resist the urge to talk about the lack of vocals for instrumental bands because I am sure they hear it all the time, but this is a case where, as good as they are, a decent vocalist who could keep up with the rhythms would send these guys to a whole new level. While I can see them garnering some success as an instrumental group with honestly one of my favorite debut EPs this year, the ceiling is unfortunately low in the genre. They could easily bust through that, but maybe it’s not a bad thing to wait for the right moment. Like the band North did with Light the Way, they can craft their instrumental skills for awhile then gain massive widespread critical success when they appeal to a wider audience. Or maybe they have no interest in that route. I’d have to ask.
Anyway, check out their Bandcamp page for a name-your-own-price copy of the digital album, and follow them on Facebook. They are currently getting ready to write an LP and are playing some shows in the Philly area.
