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We vs. Death - A Black House, A Coloured Home CD (album) cover

A BLACK HOUSE, A COLOURED HOME

We vs. Death

 

Post Rock/Math rock

3.33 | 6 ratings

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Neu!mann
Prog Reviewer
3 stars The distinctive music of this Dutch ensemble is Post Rock only by default. Yes, they have that chiming twin-guitar thing happening, but the addition of Paul Hoek's understated trumpet makes their sound fairly unique. And the more song-oriented bias of the band's latest (to date) EP separates it even further from the usual instrumental Post Rock dirges.

Five of the seven total songs here feature lyrics, sung in English (for cross-channel appeal in a small European market?) In truth the vocals are the weakest link in an otherwise taut chain, showing some of the same insecurities as (and being strongly reminiscent of) a PINK FLOYD performance, but thankfully without the misanthropic self-absorption of Roger Waters.

The music itself seems influenced more by New Wave and Post Punk trends than by anything resembling Progressive Rock. A brief introduction to 'The Sun" recalls the dual twelve-string guitar delicacy of early GENESIS, but that's stretching a comparison rather thin, and once the rhythm section kicks in we're a long way from any familiar Prog touchstones. A perfect case in point is the song "Mirage", one of only two entirely instrumental tracks and an obvious highlight of the EP, with its ominous FRIPP-like guitar theme giving way to an energetic foreground of pounding drums, all of it played with cinematic flair.

There's nothing too adventurous here, but it's solid stuff from start to finish, marred (or enhanced, depending on your preference) by the bare-bones, garage band production sound. The entire 37-minute EP, plus an album's worth of other, perhaps more representative tracks, can be had for free off the band's own web site: a generous nod to creative altruism usually reserved for music of far lesser quality than this.

Neu!mann | 3/5 |

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