Yey! Today I thought to bring you a no-brainer! I went to a concert with Russian Circles and it turned out o be kind of a turning-point to my listening habbits. RC belongs to the post-rock movement, also refered to as "shoegazer". It is a bit introvert, technical and nerdy. Hence the term shoegazer. I saw them at Roadburn Festival, Holland, 2010. I pinched my arm, bought their CDs and wanted to go home. It was the first show at a 4-day event, so going home was out of the question. But I wanted more and the CDs was all I had. Todays Album Of the Day is newer, but I decided it to be the first RC album I mention.
Russian Circles -Memorial (2013)
Memorial opens with a acoustic track. Quiet, peaceful and nice. Just to throw you into a torrent of droning, pulsating guitar on the second track "Deficit". By now you will basically understand what this is about. I call it the "post-rock formula" -endless buildups that ends in a crecendo of of explosions. It's almost like lighting the fuse of a firecracker. The hissing sound before it goes BANG. It is almost inevitable.
The album goes on and on in this pattern. Skillfully executed wether it is quiet and soft or it sends series of explosions through the speakers.
There are so many things to like about it, first of all, no vocals. The only exception is the title track "memorial" where Chelsey Wolfe appears as guest. She's good, so no complaints. Second, I like the drums. They sound like drums, and you can hear everything like being present in the studio. And then the guitars. Lots of effects, loops and double tracks.
My day isn't complete before I get a healthy dose of post-rock and Russian Circles is an excelent choice.
Previous entries to this series (They need some upvotes, peeps):
@funkit/album-of-the-day-13-gehenna-first-spell
@funkit/album-of-the-day-12-the-vintage-caravan-voyage
@funkit/album-of-the-day-11-apocalyptica-inquisition-symphony
@funkit/album-of-the-day-10-suma-let-the-churches-burn
@funkit/album-of-the-day-9-burzum-filosofem
@funkit/album-of-the-day-8-soundgarden-badmotorfinger
@funkit/album-of-the-day-7-witch-s-t
@funkit/album-of-the-day-5-storm-nordavind
@funkit/album-of-the-day-5-kyuss-welcome-to-sky-valley
@funkit/album-of-the-day-4-motorpsycho-demon-box
@funkit/album-of-the-day-2-om-electric-wizard-dopethrone
@funkit/album-of-the-day-2-om-variations-on-a-theme
@funkit/album-of-the-day-1-impaled-nazarene-moetoerpenis
