BOSCH'S WITH YOU

Ambient Post-Rock is certainly hit and miss for me. While this seems to be the one album from this Russian band that everyone prefers, I like "Wired Promise To Be" much more. That album actually has a bass player, plus there's flute and I really like the samples they add. This earlier release is more stripped down with guitars being the main instrument creating atmosphere and melodies. Not sure if the title to this one was done on purpose or just interpreted wrong but it's awkward for sure. So we get just under an hour of music with two main suites with the title tracks broken down to make up the biggest part of this recording.

The exception is the opener called "...###..." where we get some beautiful and slow guitar melodies along with some atmosphere. The guitar stops around 3 minutes as the atmosphere continues. Picked guitar joins in to the end. Next up are the title tracks separated by the titles "Episodes". "Episode #1" opens with atmosphere before these guitar expressions join in after 3 minutes. The atmosphere does settle back though. It starts to pick up with a beat a minute later. It settles back again at 6 1/2 minutes before picking up again with a beat before 10 minutes. Strummed guitar joins in as well. It starts to wind down late blending into the next part.

"Episode #2" continues with the atmosphere and there's lots of it. Some picked guitar will join in. The atmosphere fades away around 8 minutes as the guitars are slowly played. Some sparse piano late as it blends into "Episode #3". The piano is replaced by a beat rather quickly and the guitar joins in as it builds. I like the guitar starting before 6 minutes as it echoes out of the atmosphere. Picked guitar takes over before 9 minutes.

I find the two part section called "Hoarfrost" disappointing. "Episode #1" is a short 2 minute piece of mainly picked guitar that I'm not into at all. It blends into "Episode #2" where the guitar will stop but the atmosphere in the form of guitar will hum. This builds before a minute and the humming is distorted and it will continue until after 8 1/2 minutes when it fades out. Some percussion sounds then strummed guitar after 9 minutes. A high pitched sound arrives late. Just not a fan of these two songs.

This didn't grow on me at all and the enjoyment factor was pretty low much to my surprise as I was expecting better. Just my opinion.

Leave it to me to delve into a band and later find that this is their final album before a crucial band member died. That gives the album a more bittersweet demeanor. For some reason, I am very saddened by passing musicians, more so than those passing in other professions. But the review goes on!

As their biography states, Bosch's With You is a very ambient-leaning post-rock group that has a lovely sound because of it. Taking advantage of field recordings and excellent production, the band takes their brand of post-rock that would sound fairly mediocre otherwise and turn it into something much more graceful and enticing.

The album is a fantastic listen while on a walk or car ride, as most post-rock is. This album in particular makes you feel like you're in a movie although at first listen the music does not appear as cinematic as other post-rock projects.

Dimo T. Pilot went out with a whisper on this record (what else, on an ambient post-rock record?), but it is a beautiful record no less, a wonderful way for him to be remembered.

4 lovely little stars.

Russia's BOSCH'S WITH YOU offer up some excellent ambient and atmospheric Post-Rock on this their most recent release.They create some spacey soundscapes here that would even appeal to Electronic-Prog fans out there. Apparently this album was recorded just days before Dima T. Pilot's sudden death.

"Caught Inside" is mellow and laid back until before 4 minutes when the guitar and drums become more prominant. "St. Michael's Seed" is dark and spacey early on. Guitar 2 minutes in then drums. It settles before 5 minutes then starts to build. A calm after 8 minutes as we get a beautiful sounding conclusion to this track. "Hide-And-Seek To The Four Winds With Yourself" is windy to begin with then these spacey synths come in and slowly pulse and float. Guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. A fuller sound a minute later as the spacey sounds subside and drums join the guitar. Bass too. A calm10 minutes in then it slowly builds. It picks up before 13 minutes. It settles back again 16 1/2 minutes in but it's noisy. Winds end it.

"Molecular Ensemble" features some gorgeous sounding guitar, bass and drums. It picks up 4 minutes in then settles after 6 minutes. Some great atmosphere here.The drums and sound get fuller after 8 1/2 minutes. "Metathesis" is the 22 1/2 minute closer. A relaxing and laid back beginning with drums. It's louder 1 1/2 minutes in. A calm with nature sounds before 6 minutes. A car starts and drives away.Then another car starts and leaves as well. We can hear children talking and other sounds as the spacey mood continues. Very cool.Guitar gets louder after 11 minutes. A beat before 16 minutes as the one guitar makes some noise in the background and the other picks over top.

I really enjoyed this album and the cover art is a nice touch as well. It's all about the moods they create here. Well done.

Released less than a month after Dima T.Pilot's sudden death, this EP presents BWY at their best. Deep and lush in sound, very Psychedelic this time than Post-Rock/Drone/ Ambient like on previous releases, BWY's 3-track record has everything band is known for: subtle guitar tones, haunting rhythm-section, beautiful atmosphere and amazing melodical gift in every musical phrase. I doubt you'll find this EP on CD, but it's worth listening anyway. The best BWY work on par with the "Dreams..." trilogy, no doubt here.

I never saw him, never talked to him in real life and now never will. We were just LiveJournal friends, sometimes communicating via e-mail now and then. But damn, he was one of the best musicians I'd ever known, very educated and balanced both as a listener and a musician. What a loss for the scene, seriously. I hope, already recorded BWY's album which is scheduled for release on this Autumn, will see the light of day to serve as a tribute of eternal memory to band's leader, Dima T.Pilot. Rest in peace, friend.

4.5 stars doubtlessly rounded to 5

I don't know where did we start this journey with BWY and how, but we've finally coincided here. I believe, this is the best effort from BWY to date, and the best place to start with. Stepping away from Prog-Rock and Post-Rock, I was lured to realms of Ambient/Drone/Minimalistic music recently, and oddly enough, this release has more such features than proggy/posty ones. 14 minutes of 'Hoarfrost' (with acoustic intro), low frightening drone with some oriental bass background, this is what I like the most here now. This is odd, really odd, since I've never been a Minimalism fan before (check my Prog-Metal reviews, ha-ha!), and I thought that 'Dreams that come a Thing' epic in 3 parts (35 min long in a sum!) would appeal more to me...though it's splendid in its own way, with rare and unpredictable climaxes and long ambient sections, cold and warm, dark and shiny, any kind you'd like to hear. I don't know what to expect from the second part of the trilogy, really, since it's LP-only release, but judging from BWY's progression, it could easily be their best album - even better than this magnificent one. Extremely recommended, especially if you're tired of modern Post-Rock copycats or angry hardcore kids trying to make something of Post-Metal kind. BWY is a universe in itself, and it would be a great shame to miss it. Amazing.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

BWY's debut is a bit naive record. Cover artwork makes you think of some lame PhotoShop samples, song titles are a bit confusing, and the mood you're in (before listening) is quite skeptic. Music saves it all, and when you're through with the album, you don't care anymore for anything but Music.

OK, it's 2004. It's 10 years since BARK PSYCHOSIS genre-founding album, 7 years since GY!BE's ground-breaking debut and 2 years since SILENCE KIT's debut album. Unlike SK's effort, that was more an indie/shoegaze trick, 'Birds & Fishes' is strongly a Post-Rock album. No, wait, it's not even Post- Rock: this is more like Ambient Rock, if you ever heard of one, filled with drones, mystical background sounds and guitars that sound like keyboards. Uplifting mood, major harmonies and waves of layers of sound washing you - this is how 'The Bird is sleeping' begins (free to download from band's official web- site). Somewhere around 8th minute drums enter, and the whole structure unfolds, flowing around 4/4 and 6/8 passages in the same warm and uplifting mood. It's not like this track is STRUCTURED or BUILT, no, it's rather FLOWS unstopped from one section to another. 'The new zero for a wide wasteland' is more like a Post-Rock track we've all used to (with obvious climax and some voice samples), but the feeling of 'I-heard-this-before' is mercilessly ruined by disturbing drones and out- there sounds, quite frightening and moody. This one is also free-to-download. 'III' uses melody I heard somewhere before in BWY works (on 2006 album I believe), and again it has structure close to the opening track - it's not Post-Rock, it's more like Ambient played on guitars and drums. The main theme unfolds for the whole 17 minutes, and sudden acoustic guitar coda (very tasteful and fresh) ends this wonderful trip.

Despite the absence of strong melodic hooks and some naive attitude, 'Birds and Fishes' is fine addition to any Post-Rock collection, especially if you're into more Ambient side of this music or just looking for rare and interesting stuff. 3.5 stars rounded to 4, a good record indeed, but I won't recommend it for starters - better begin with 2006 or later albums.

Before this one I heard only few free songs from band's web-site and MySpace. I didn't know what to expect, but any expectation fails when we talk about bands of that kind. BOSCH'S WITH YOU present their vision of Post-Rock, without obvious cliches and well-known melodies; a sort of homecoming, back tp the roots, when Post-Rock wasn't just a guitar-based instrumental music with soundtrack feel to it. More inspired by Experimental/Indie scene (than by Progressive or Psychedelic ones), BOSCH's music is created from ambient, noise-rock, drone and guitaresque old-school indie. I feel sorry for those who expects 'quiet-loud-climax' kind of stuff here; BWY are smart enough to avoid standards, even in Post- Rock. 5 long tracks (with the shortest clicking at 7.50 and the longest at 21 and a half minutes) create an atmosphere of troubled ambience, of something-to-come, of something-to-unfold, and this is what keeps the listener sharp without being keen on melodies or predictable hooks. My favourite one, 'HCTD Do the D.O.W. Another Way', serves as the central piece of the whole work, while others swarm around it with some re-occuring themes and sounds. Hard to say whom I recommend this CD; Post-Rock lovers obviously, Experimental stuff aficionados too, but even 70s Prog' fans (especially those who are heavily into Kraut Rock) should give this a try. Check band's site for free mp3s, but don't hurry to shape your impression on them - you need a whole album to judge