Song of the Week: Thebes - Om

Thebes - Om - God is Good

I just finished listening to this record on LP. I listened to the A side, then B side, then A side again, and loved it. I don't even know if this is my favorite song on the album. I can't even remember what the B side sounds like. The only thing in my head is the literally room shaking bass and piercing sharp drums that ends Thebes. Its 19 - nearly 20 - minutes of hairy bass, sparse drums, and hypnotic chanting. It's hard to write an review for this in pieces, because the music is so much more rewarding when listened to continuously, without distractions or much thought. Really the difference between weather this will sound hypnotic or boring is the amount of thought you have during it. If you are captivated by the rumble and fall of bass and drums then you wont mind mind hearing those endless repetitions , but if you instead seek to analyze each moment you will really take yourself out of the song and will probably sit there wondering why you've been hearing the same damn thing for twenty minutes, and how this could be considered music. The instruments themselves require a complete approach too, it's not about the parts of the band, its about the whole thing together, just sitting back and being transported. It's hardly a song, more of a happening, or an atmosphere. And it still manages to have intense jaw dropping rifts of sound that instead of jarring the listener, move him along peacefully. Simply amazing.

Song: Here

(Disclaimer - I've really only listened to Om on my big speakers at home through which the record players plays. With a band like Om i do think that the quality, and volume of the speakers make a huge difference... See picture at left)

Monday Night Special: Vinum Sabbathi - Electric Wizard

Its clear that much of the band is worked around the idea of shock and awe. They have songs with names like Funeralopolis and We Hate You, and a record called Dopethrone which pictures the devil smoking a bong. You could even go as far to say their sound is based around this principle. The first sound of this album is a sample suggesting "death or mental institutions". Next is a pulsating bass that seems stumbling and somehow unhinged, matched by the mammoth guitar that beats throughout the song. The closest analogy I can give the whole tone of the song (or the album) is that of tar. It's a dark crude mess of black hot pitch; steaming, bubbling, rising and falling. It's a song that with it's title establishes what it will be before its even played and then still manages to shock the listener.

Song: Here

Song of the Week: Harper Lewis - Russian Circles

I first learned about Russian circles by seeing a show of theirs locally on a whim and the basis of a few youtube videos. I came away from the show very impressed, their songs, although long had movement and kept me interested. I think that Harper Lewis best illustrates what i loved about that concert. It has an interesting drum part that allows the melody to slowly develop, until it reaches a crushing climax. At that climax the song smoothly changes it whole tone and attitude, instead of being silent and intense, it becomes a fully realized sound. That change of mood and sound works throughout the whole song, and was a joy to listen to.

Song: Here