LONG DISTANCE CALLING

Or if you wish, you could call it a post-metal album, as one of my friends told me, anyway, that is not really important, labeling may guide people but sometimes it may misguide them too, so I would say this is post rock and that's it. And a post-rock band from Germany is not what I would expect to see every day, so when I knew about them I was interested. Now I know this is their third studio album since 2007 when they released their debut, and it is curious to see a self titled album as the third one and not as the first one.

So this 2011 Long Distance Calling are again on the map to share this brand new self- titled album which contains seven tracks and a total time of 58 minutes. It kicks off with "Into the Black Wide Open" which is a pretty interesting eight-minute track that offers excellent heavy post rock music, I like how it is gradually progressing until it reaches a climax; the guitars are always creating some emotional feeling so one can feel trapped under the sound. You can feel the power and in fact be part of it, when that happens, I believe the music succeeded.

"The Figrin D'an Boogie" starts with a repetitive bass sound which later will be joined by guitars repeating the same rhythm that may create a hypnotizing sound. But then the song changes a little bit, it slows down so you can take a breath and wait for the next blaze. And yeah, the sound is louder a couple of minutes later with cool drums and guitars. Just before the fifth minute the song explodes and creates that powerful feeling and sound which I enjoy a lot in post rock bands.

"Invisible Giants" starts again with a repetitive (but lighter) guitar sound that will play for a minute while other guitars and instruments little by little are joining. Then it makes that kind of mandatory explosion so the heavy post rock sound is on it again. This track may be my least favorite off this album, which does not mean it is bad, no, but here after three minutes I honestly felt tired, it did not catch me up as the previous songs did.

"Timebends" is a different kind of track, the heavy sound was left out at the beginning and replaced by a gentler and even friendly sound which little by little is progressing while the different musical passages appear. The song has a rich mixture of sounds that together create good atmospheres, so one can easily enjoy it without being as heavy as the previous track, because being different usually is healthy. Nice track!

But the power returns with "Arecibo (Long Distance Calling)" which happens to be also the shortest track of the album. This instrumental piece is decent but not their best, I like the drums and of course the guitars that lead the music to its goal. The sound is close to metal, that's why I may not be that enthusiastic with this track in particular.

Next is "Middleville" which has some electronic spacey sounds accompanying an acoustic guitar, and a minute later bass, drums and electric guitar appears, and wait, there is something more: vocals! I was really surprised the first time I listened to it because I thought it was an instrumental album in its entirety. The voice is good, and well received by me, though I honestly would have left them out. The rhythm of this song may appeal to alternative and even grunge fans.

And finally the longest track, entitled "Beyond the Void" which gathers spacey electronic elements creating some ambient and atmospheres, with both the light and heavy sides of post-rock. I like this track because little by little is catching your attention until you are again on it, in spite of the different changes of mood, time and tempo they offer here. The guitar work is great, the solos and the rhythm are worth paying attention.

This is a pretty good album, very consistent and absolutely listenable, so I would recommend it to the post rock fan in special, but also to any prog rock fan who would like to explore this different genre. My final grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!

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