JAKOB

Just an excellent debut from these New Zealander Post rockers. The cover art really gives a clue to how the music sounds as well. Dark and melancholic with lots of depth and atmosphere. Lots of repetitive sounds but more outbursts of power than their "Solace" album from 2006 which is partly why I like this one better. Some guest cello on a couple of tracks but this is pretty much guitars, bass and drums in the Post-Rock tradition.

"Drive Here And Then" is catchy and restrained with that beat and guitar. It kicks in with power at 2 minutes then settles back as contrasts continue. A good opener. "I'm On Your Side" is laid back with some depth and bass sounds. I'm drawn to this sound so much. It then explodes after 2 1/2 minutes then settles back a minute later with guitar playing over this time.

"Nice Day For An Earthquake" is laid back again to begin with along with plenty of depth. Some guitar in the Post-Rock style before 2 minutes and it slowly gets louder until dropping out before 3 1/2 minutes. It kicks in with power after 4 minutes. "Ageena" is a top three for me. Drums only to start as some nasty bass joins in followed by guitar. Great sound! It kicks in around 1 1/2 minutes then settles back as contrasts continue. Amazing sound after 5 minutes as it gets experimental and powerful.

"A Moment From Different Angles" is another one with a relaxed start along with depth. The tempo picks up just before 3 minutes but not for long. "Aural" has beats, guitar and cello and is rather short at 2 minutes. "Calmrock" has bass and shimmering sounds as the drums join in. It's laid back but building as Post-Rock guitars join in. It settles back again. "Overseen" is a repetitive, melancholic piece with a laid back vibe once again. Guest cello 2 1/2 minutes in.

"Saiines" has strummed guitar as drums join in and it's rather dark and atmospheric as it builds. Some power before 2 minutes. Nice. It calms right down at 3 minutes to the end. "Ryan" is a top three and it just sounds so good as they continue with the same sort of sound. It stays fairly repetitive until kicking in after 4 minutes. Gotta love that guitar 5 minutes in.

"The Collar Sets Well" has some fast paced guitar as drums join in. This one has a brighter sound to it. It kicks into a powerful sound a couple of times. "Some Summer" ends it and it's the longest at 7 1/2 minutes. Pleasant guitar as drums and bass join in. It's laid back really although it settles more after 3 minutes and again at 5 minutes the latter has guitars that echo and spacey sounds too.

I just like the overall sound of this one and would rate it right there with their EP called "Dominion", a solid 4 stars.

JAKOB are a Post- Rock band out of New Zealand and this EP was released in 2004. Love the album cover of that black and white picture of that Pontiac. This is one long track at over 29 minutes and it's mostly ambient but we do get a couple of breakouts in the Post- Rock tradition.

It's so quiet to begin with that I had to turn it up the first time to see if it was playing. It turns louder around a minute as we continue to get those guitar expressions. A beat follows in this relaxed soundscape. It does build a little more and then it begins to wind down until we have almost silence before 6 minutes. That previous sound returns as it trips along slowly. Beautiful music as it stays relaxed and repetitive.

It starts to wind down again until it's very minimalistic 15 minutes in and then it starts to build slowly before 16 minutes as a beat returns and the guitar continues. It turns surprisingly powerful before 20 1/2 minutes with plenty of distortion. It then settles back 2 minutes later as the distortion stops. After 24 minutes the distortion is back and that powerful sound. Sounds echo late as it winds down to end it.

There's a lot of fans of this EP and while there's nothing new here this is some high end Post- Rock folks. An easy 4 stars.

Flawless, sophisticated Post Rock from New Zealand, this is such an odd and welcome Post Rock album for the use and presence of a strings section on almost every song. Very worthy of your attention.

Five star songs: a soft, almost country/classical song due to its lavish strings arrangement, 2. "Emergent" (5:08) (9.5/10); a very catchy, melodic chord progression grows in a MONO way with tremolo guitars and great drumming before strings arrangement takes over the final third, 4. "Harmonia" (6:05) (9.5/10); atmospheric layers of guitars with insistent drums and bass, 1. "Blinded Them With Science" (6:57) (9/10); a spacious, spacey keyboard-filled soundscape with gently rolling tom play and bass lines builds gently, in a kind of ROBIN GUTHRIE-HAROLD BUDD way, 6. "Darkness" (5:37) (9/10), and; a really perfect soundscape with an awesome drum and bass play to go with the atmospheric guitars that flounders a bit in the second half--maybe didn't need to be this long, 5. "Resolve" (9:11) (9/10).

Four star songs: until the final two minutes, this rondo-like song is very formulaic in the standard PR tradition, 3. "Magna Carta" (6:15) (8.5/10) and the final song which sounds a bit like a slowed down, slightly edgier version of the first half of #3 "Magna Carta," 7. "Sines" (5:27) (7.5/10).

A near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and one of the better Post Rock albums I've ever heard.

Jakob is a post-rock band hailing from the far-away kiwi land, having their new album "Sines" out in 2015, after quite a hiatus. And no, I would not be surprised, if I found out that these guys were doing nothing during their break but building the new album. Because boy, Sines really is nothing short of perfection.

First of all, post rock is a tricky genre. You do have to be in the mood to take it in, especially if it's Jakob's soaringly dark music being on display. Sines will not break this circle either, given that at places it is even more downtempo than its predecessors. And that is a compliment for Sines. Because as heavy and as great the opening track ("Blind them with science") sounds, bringing back the power of "Controle" (especially when the heavy riffs and the solid drum work kick in), that is how much the new, laid-back style fits the band also. Even though we are not talking about a long album (7 songs rambling through 44 minutes), it is safe to stay that thanks to the band's brave effort to experiment in new directions, the album is much more varied and diverse than their previous ones. And yet, each piece of this puzzle manages to fall into the right place on Sines.

Besides the kick-ass opening track there is one more "loud" song to mention ("Magna carta"), whilst all the others would mark the band's expansion in this new, laid-back direction. Standing out of those, "Emergent" comes with some surprisingly mature and beautiful melodies, whilst my personal favourite, "Darkness", might be one of the best the band has ever written, thanks to its minimalist, yet beautifully ambient sounds, with the drummer taking the back seat (and still adding so much to it). If you close your eyes during this song, there is no place it will not take you to. Not a happy song overall... so after that, it is no surprise that the band goes for a bit more optimistic-sounding song to close it all with, which is the title-track "Sines". And make no mistake; again, it might be the best ending of a cd the band has ever gone for. Listening to the song I ask myself the question though, how these guys manage to sell five-minute-long songs so much built up around nothing but one basic sound, shifting the band closer to drone music even at times. The title track delivers a solid answer, as it starts from zero, building up this one sound from scratch in the most downtempo way ever, gathering more courage to expand further with each minute, whilst still repeating the same melody... and really not doing much else. Yet, it works, which goes for the whole cd too: Sines is Jakob's most mature album to date, with their ideas all fleshed out, let it be the usual, loud, (almost) post-metal sound of them that any fan might expect, or the new, dreamy musical journey they embark upon here, which suits them just as fine, too. Having said this, it is no surprise that they manage to stand out again from the sea of mediocre contemporary bands, which is not easy in the genre. So, until they return to hopefully build on these strengths on their next album too, I give them two thumbs up for such a multi-layered, mature and beautiful comeback.

"Solace" is the third studio album from this Post-Rock band out of New Zealand, released in 2006. As the title would suggest they've made a recording here that has a calming affect on the listener overall, and this is certainly true when compared to their first two albums. I really like that album cover as well.

"Malachite" builds from the start with bass and guitars as the drums join in. After 2 1/2 minutes things get louder and surprisingly emotional. It settles back then that emotional section returns after 4 1/2 minutes. It's most powerful a minute later to the end. "Pneumonic" has this heavy distorted sound that pulses as the drums beat early on. A spacey calm arrives before 3 1/2 minutes then it kicks in even harder than before after 4 minutes with distorted guitars playing over top of the powerful pulsating sounds. "Lonesome" has a slow beat with Post-Rock styled guitars off in the distance to start. It gradually builds to an emotional sound after 4 minutes. It then settles right down before 6 minutes and it continues to wind down to the end.

"Oran Mor" has a spacey start as a beat joins in and more. Love the bass here. A distorted wall of guitars arrives 2 minutes in followed by a calm before 3 1/2 minutes. It then rebuilds. "Safety In Numbers" is spacey and laid back as a beat joins in. Guitars come in over top after 2 1/2 minutes. Man this sounds good 4 minutes in as it gets a little louder. A calm a minute later but it's brief as it kicks back in more powerful than ever. It settles back once again this time to the end. "Everything All The Time" has this spacey and drifting sound to it with a slow beat. This is good! It's building after 2 1/2 minutes to a more powerful sound thanks to the guitars. A calm follows before 4 minutes as we get this slow pulsating sound and it's also very spacey. This continues to the end. "Saint" sort f continues where the final 6 plus minutes of the previous track left off. This all reminds me somewhat of "The Sky Moves Sideways" sound. It settles back even more late.

Without question this is an album every Post-Rock fan needs to hear. A solid 4 stars and a very enjoyable listen.

The only negative thing about Jakob was the long hiatus between their previous album, Solace, and this album, but boy was it worth the wait. One of the finest post-rock albums I have had the pleasure of hearing. The opener "Blind them With Science" is among the highlights, continuing the type of sound found on Solace, whereby drummer Jason Johnston is almost the lodestone, providing the underlying pulse and foundation on which the other two members can create - a canvas, if you will. The album as a whole, however, finds Jakob going a bit more minimalist, abstract, and ambient than their previous recordings, and this approach finds its most extreme instantiation in the title track, where drums are absent, ending the album with a mystical ambient drone which gradually builds up layers upon layers, almost like an orchestra gradually swelling. In between the aforemention tracks is plenty to admire and be swept up in, from the beautiful ballads "Emergent" and "Darkness" to the sweeping majesty of "Magna Carta", "Resolve", and "Harmonia". The entire album is captivating and engrossing from start to finish. Initially I was unsure that the wonderful Solace could be bested but these gentlemen have done it again. When I find myself in the mood for post-rock/ambient I inevitably reach for this record. Highest possible recommendation.

I actually really like this piece of post rock. It's basically ambience that slowly leads to a semi- energetic beat and tune, and I don't have an issue with its length. Perhaps I would prefer vocals though. The single song EP really reflects a somber and peaceful mood, despite its sometimes energetic drumming and guitar. But as a single piece EP, it has potential and works incredibly well for the minimalist design it has.

I'm not quite sure why I enjoyed this really. Instrumentals are not my preferred style in music - but for some reason, this one caught my attention, and given that, I must say that I recommend this for post rock fans - on the basis that it establishes and holds a mood as well as the listeners attention throughout. I could actually see this being quite good study music for those who happen to come across this rarity (legally).

4 stars.

Jakob's Solace, released in 2006 is another excellent instrumental post-rock album with lots of stuff worth hearing. Compared to the previous album, Cale:Drew, this one is much more ambient and more based on soundscapes and atmospheres. The songs aren't as structured; they are more about feelings or moods that take over the songs and and then move them into different directions mostly with build-ups. Although this album is filled with ambience, the songs still have very dynamic sections; A typical song on this album may start with very ambient guitars but slowly you can notice a pattern in the ambience and the song starts to form, and soon the song is dynamic, loud, noisy, angry and very, very dirty. Lonesome is a perfect example of this, but not all songs follow this model, there's variation of course. That's why this album keeps the listener interested throughout the whole 50min. Some songs will start right away with a tight drum beat, but there's always the atmosphere and ambience in the background, always. The album makes you feel as if you were isolated from the real world in this different reality that only leaves space for you and your thoughts and the music. The atmosphere is intense, really.

One thing that this album doesn't have, that for example Cale:Drew has are those moments that gives you the chills you know, that really speak to you, that you really resonate with. Well this is just my subjective opinion, but so is every review, so...

To sum it up, i really recommend this album, and this band overall, if you're into post-rock you'll love this no question about it, if you are wondering what post-rock is all about, you can as well start from here because the song are quite accessible.

This album is stunning. This group's ability to write this increadibly atmospheric dirty and beautiful music, all of these three elements at the same time is what makes this album so mind blowing. The song lengths aren't that long and the buildups don't last that long, though they do exist and play an important role in this music. The album is mixed top-notch, especailly the drums. When the drums kick in at the end of the song Jimmy Hoffa, it gives me goosebumps every time. Oh, and Semaphore.. there are no words to describe it. Get this album, it's a materpiece.

Now this really is the bees' knees. This one-track EP contains a thirty-minute post-rock treat, a track that gently takes the listener through a variety of soundscapes using oh-so-crisp drumwork, distorted guitar and bass with plenty of reverb and sustain. There's no tune, of course, and while ordinarily that would limit it's appeal to me, I'm captivated by the feel of the piece. It helps me identify what was missing from 'Cale:Drew', their album issued before this EP, which is the breadth of composition needed to truly draw the listener in.

'Dominion' has a much more ambient feel than anything on 'Cale:Drew', with a gentle guitar introduction giving way to a simple but slightly varied drum pattern. The song drifts like a summer shower until the twelve-minute mark, where drawn-out guitar notes are followed by sparse bass, and it all begins again ... at the twenty minute mark it grows heavier and darker for a time, with feedback squealing a thunderstorm of noise. The storm comes and goes for a while, until the track ends with a crunching climax and a long, delicious fade out. Doesn't sound much for thirty minutes of music, but that's the point. You're supposed to fill in the gaps.

Oddly, this album gave me a similar feeling to listening to early BOARDS OF CANADA: crisp rhythms over slightly restrained and muffled notes, the accompaniment to some imaginary documentary. I understand this was edited down from 50 minutes of music. I'm sure it's a better product for the edit, but I could cope with more of this!

JAKOB have constructed a delightful composition, one I will return to when the mood takes me: not often, but with pleasure each time. Four stars for those comfortable with post-rock, and possibly an extra star for those who enjoy ambient music. Best thing I've heard out of my home country for ages. Pure bliss.