MACHINE! FIRE! GHOST!

Well what have we here? Something very special indeed from Norway. The EP is available as a download and you can listen to it all right here on the Progarchives so no complaints from me, and I am willing to give anything a go.

First word to describe it - Beautiful. A very entrancing beautific tranquil sound throughout, yet it all feels so sorowful and melancholy and their are shade of dark. One is reminded of Godspeed You! Black Emperor - the rawness of the sound and the infinite patience of how each track builds up, almost entirely instrumental but not quite. 'Jan Mayen Skyline' builds with a nice acoustic guitar and then an off beat drum and some very mournful violins that are played with virtuoso skill.

Second word to describe it - Encapsulating. 'We Lined Up and Ate Fire' begins with a more commercial feel - jangly guitar riffs and then the groove kicks in, repetitive and building all the time. I love the breaks in the rhythm and how it returns to the main motif. Towards the end it builds to a crescendo with a repeating lick and a rather heavy riff and very well played. It is pleasant and encapsulating. There are defined breaks in structure as each piece begins and it is one of the best tracks on the EP. Third word to describe it - Ethereal. Untitled features a disembodied voice that tells us concerning reality that man needs irrational morality and logic to exist. After this bizarre introduction another guitar chord progression locks in with swooshing cymbal patterns. There are times of serene beauty and these are complimented by washes of effects and cymbal splashes. The tone gets darker with each progression and the voice reminds us again of the irrational state of mind. The drums get frantically irregular and the whole thing begins to pound and crash drowning out the serenity. It is mesmirising music featuring Anders' and Kristian's jagged guitar solos and percussive showmanship from Pål. Lars Erik's bass is admirable too, complimenting it all and keeping a constant ryhthm that moves in a variety of directions but maintains consistency. The vocals burst in and out of the cacophony of sound. I absolutely love this.

Fourth word to describe it - Ambience. IK+ blends seamlessly from Untitled and moves in a variety of directions, never really settling on one time signature. It begins very smoothly and serenely, with wind effects to add to the overall ambience of isolation. The bizarre soundwaves seem to transport us to a deserted place, perhaps in the middle of some glacial planet or alien desert. There is a break in metrical pattern and it shifts into a faster off- beat guitar riff with Pål's daring off kilter drums. Once again it is never dull as it continually shifts in time signatures but there is enough to lock onto to keep the momentum going. This is an incredible achievement for a debut EP.

In conclusion, the EP is beautiful, encapsulating, ethereal ambience. It is difficult to absorb at times, but this is a nice change in pace to the average prog band, and is a lot more accessible than other Post/Math Rock I have heard that are very much in the experimental phase and difficult to listen to. I recommend 1099 as a relaxing journey onto some cosmic glacial planet. 1099's techno ambience is icey landscape music like no other band I have heard. All the tracks have a strange ambience and blend into one powerful journey.

So take the 1099 test now - you will likely enjoy the experience.

What is this? An entire EP of atmospheric Post Rock, available for complimentary download from the band's own web site (www.1099band.com, not their MySpace page; you can also hear all four tracks right here at Prog Archives), and so far it has only one other written review? Either there's been an epidemic of lethargy here, or else the global economy is stronger than we've been led to believe, and free quality music is no longer a fiscal necessity.

The debut studio effort from this new combo from western Norway offers a quartet of strong but ethereal guitar-based instrumentals, clearly modeled after but in no way an imitation of such established Post Rock acts like MOGWAI and GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR (wherever they insist on locating that pesky exclamation mark). 1099's music is equally awesome at times, but with a more subtle, introspective sound perhaps reflecting the midnight sun moodiness of the band's Scandinavian origins.

Check out, for example, the untitled third track of the EP, a haunting guitar dirge of subdued power, building over what sounds like a found lecture on philosophy toward a distorted crescendo not unlike an EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY epiphany (high praise, from this fan). The music then segues gracefully into the oddly titled 'ik+', a long (almost twelve minutes) hypnotic piece repeating a simple, ENO-esque chord sequence in an escalating variety of probably simple but to these ears very challenging time signatures.

A final word: what might seem like a conservative three-star rating is only an acknowledgement of the group's untapped potential. Their initial offering might be secondhand Post Rock, but while it breaks no new ground the EP does at least plant a strong seed, and with careful nurturing this band might grow into something truly special (as of this writing, a follow-up EP is due any day now).

I am not exactly updated on the latest music trends and labelphrases. But I have heard the phrase "shoegaze" being branded around the scene. Post rock can often be connected to shoegaze, I have been informed by people half of my age.

What 1099 is trying here must surely be shoegaze. Some guitars builds up. The crashes down. Then builds up. Sorts of vocals. Guitars builds up. The world is a horrible place. I am depressed now. I need to be consoled. Any pretty girls out there with a shoulder I can lean my head on ? I am crying now. Still crying. Sorry, I am too saddened over this world to go to bed with you (but Angus Young from AC/DC is available).

In short; this EP/album is simply not reaching the expected standards. The music is pedestrian, bordering to sleeping. Although the mood and the ambience is good here, that's all this album has. 1099 has simply forgotten to write good post rock and good melodies. Sorry, but this EP falls way too short of required standards.

2 stars

4.5 stars actually

With great harmony and incredible melodies and themes, this simple post-rock band from norway just catch me. The first theme, Jan Mayen Skyline and the melodies on the track IK+ are just awesome! IK+ is one of the most beautifull post-rock i've ever heard. With only strings and drums they make a sound verisimilar, good to listen in urban landscapes...

Something that i usually don't like is noise rock, but this band have some influences on it and this "noise" make an atmosphere really nice...

Unfortunately, there are no such original CDs to buy. I also talked with the band via MySpace and they said they recordered a new album but his album has never released...

For those who like post-rock, a must have!

At some point, 1099 offered both Machine! Fire! Ghost! and Any Day Now for free download, and I obliged. I had no idea that I'd downloaded "post rock" until much later.

Machine! Fire! Ghost! is a 4-track, instrumental EP, and is apparently this Norwegian outfit's first release. Much of the music here, as well as on Any Day Now is impressionistic, and free of obvious structure. Most of the melodies are created with guitars, although there is some violin in the first song, "Jan Mayen Skyline." (Jan Mayen is an island belonging to Norway which had some importance in World War II, and whose major feature is a volcano that erupted as recently as 1985. I looked that up, by the way, on Wikipedia. From what I can tell, the island is basically uninhabited, so I don't think it has a skyline in the ordinary sense of the term.) While they're sonically different from "Jan Mayen Skyline," the latter two songs, "Untitled" and "ik+," are also evocative, exploratory, and unconstrained.

The exception, at least to some degree, is the EP's second song, "We Lined Up and Ate Fire," which has a jazzier feel and something closer to a verse-chorus structure.

Machine! Fire! Ghost! is not outlandishly great; at times it seems to be wandering - - not aimless, but perhaps disoriented. But I still consider it a "good" recording, and one worthy of three stars.