1099

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!

For those who really like post-rock, listen! For those who do not, whatever...

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...

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

It is obvious where this band comes from. There is even a nod to the Norwegian Black Metal scene on the opening minute of the final track Beauty Of The Night. But before that, we have been treated to some fine post rock with the occasional nod to Norwegian folk music too. The above mentioned Beauty Of The Night is the strongest melody here, clocking in at seven minutes. It takes the listener from the bleak black metal landscape to some Norwegian folk and classical music too. Everything under the post rock umbrella, off course.

The quality of the first three songs...... ehh.... melodies are not particular impressive. They are too standard post rock to really enthuse me. But this EP is saved by Beauty Of The Night which is the best melody here by miles. If the band had written and recorded more songs like this; this band would rise to somewhere near top of the post rock genre. But this is still a good EP and it is a free download too from their homepage. Good, but not genre defining great.

3 stars

My initial response to the new recording is to note the more aggressive sound of the band this time out. The EP opener "Geigenteller" plays like a long-lost EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY composition, but the addition of violins and (on later tracks) saxophone helps to make the music fairly unique. The EXPLOSIONS influence surfaces even higher in the aptly-titled closer "Beauty of the Night", drawing a solid line from the kindred twin-guitar icons of Austin, Texas to the 1099 home base in Trondheim, half a world away in western Norway.

Each of the four songs blends smoothly into the next, alternating between moods of blissful near-ambient calm and fuzzed-out guitar catharsis, particularly effective in the emphatically titled "Up! Up! Up!" The abrupt ending to this track is the exception to the otherwise seamless flow of the EP, sounding like someone accidentally kicked a plug out of its socket.

This new effort doesn't advance the band's style any further from their year 2008 debut, but at least consolidates their aims with confidence and strength. And if the all-too brief 21-minute running time (far shorter than their first release) seems a liability, keep in mind the group is generously giving both recordings away free of charge, a welcome altruistic gesture in tough economic times. Consider the two EPs as separate halves of a single worthwhile CD, and well worth inclusion in the expanding pantheon of international Post-Rock.

Music is what you're expecting from Norwegian post-rock, with all pros and cons. And being a very fresh and pleasant listening, it lucks personality, what is main problem for hundred other post-rock bands.

Not bad listening for genre fans, but don't expect unusual music: you will get what you expected.

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).

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.