Labels: Moment of Collapse
Review by: Oli Saunders
The first Connections split is pretty essential in my opinion, showcasing a range of excellent emo / screamo bands from around the world, so I had high expectations for this second one. It’s a great concept and kudos to Jens and Basti for making it work again. Six bands, thirteen songs, let’s go…
Suis La Lune kick things off and the main thing I notice is how they have mellowed out over time. The post-rock elements are still there (but are not as essential to the structure), the intense parts are still there, but now a new addition is some spoken parts and desperate singing. I think these guys are really good at what they do and hopefully they will make it to the UK with Pianos Become The Teeth next year.
The Saddest Landscape are up next. It irritates me how many releases this band has to be honest – too many! – also, they have a split 7” with some band (Trophy Scars? Can’t remember…) which just has an alternative version of one of their songs. And they’ve pulled the same trick here, releasing one new song but then an alternative version of ‘The Temptation That Is You’ that, believe it or not, was released seven freaking years ago. It’s just a bit uneccessary, as are their adverts on Facebook. I still can’t help but enjoy their music though damnit.
Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking end the first side of the record, playing a typically epic number. They nail this sound to be fair; post-rock screamo with quiet bits and slow build ups into an intense crushing finale. If you are still receptive to this sort of thing then you’ll love this – probably the band’s best song to date.
Flip over the record and Kias Fansuri plie us with four songs. I was expecting really quickfire stuff since they play four songs but actually the songs are pretty long and make up twelve minutes in total. One of Malaysia’s best screamo bands and a group that has got better over time. The sounds is pretty clean and I’d rather it was a little more lo-fi, but that is a minor criticism and these songs are quality. Multiple vocalists, plenty of melody but played fast. Things get a bit different on the final two tracks – it’s a lot more drawn out and removed from the sound of the band I am familiar with. Reminds me of Magdalene a little bit; an interesting evolution, I’ll need to give it a few more listens to decide how much I like this new approach.
Isaïah contribute two songs next that have a similar feel to their songs on their LP but I think are an improvement. Or maybe it’s that this band are best suited to this sort of release – the songs on the LP get a bit samey after a while. I know they’ve had a fair number of lineup changes over time so maybe the new additions have brought in new ideas – it sounds really good anyway – intense and quiet bits intertwined but it doesn’t feel forced in the same way that it has previously. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.
Adorno finish the split, a band whose reinvention in the last year has made my jaw drop. There is little emo in modern times that sounds as good as this. These guys, 12XU and Sinaloa are the cream of the crop when it comes to emo bands having released records this year. Keep it up is all I can add to the praise I have already given, and come visit the UK please.
Overall, another excellent Connections record, a little hit and miss in places but the first one was too. The record comes with a nice poster containing lyrics and some nice words about the split. Will there be a third? I hope so.
24th November 2010