FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL

FINAL QUIET is the band's latest effort released in 2020 and the album title does raise the question as to whether it actually signifies the band's intent of calling it quits or does it have a more symbolic meaning that remains undisclosed in some abstract only-the-band-itself-gets-it kinda way. Whatever the case, these guys must really get together well since the lineup remains the same after all this time, an almost unthinkable feat in the world of modern music but when happy buttons are pushed, why fight a good thing? This album comes five years after the previous "Underdog Underfoot" although an ambient remix of that album followed in 2018 but that sounds lame to me so i'm skipping it. Generally speaking i hate remix albums.

It sounds like the ambient remix album has left an indelible impression on the band though because FINAL QUIET whether it's FINAL or not (as far as the band's releases go), it certainly does display truth in advertising with the QUIET part of the title's equation. This is a noticeably mellower album overall than the previous works. While the piano remains the focus of the band's distinct sound, the band has lost a lot of the ferociousness that made the first two albums so exhilarating. While the earlier albums featured a unique mix of post-rock mixed with prog and math rock, FINAL QUIET also tamps down the progressive and math aspects leaving a fairly ordinary example of post-rock in the vein of Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai only with a piano roll that seems to sound like the theme to the Exorcist at time!

The musicians all sound like they're on top of their game but Watty seems to have softened up a bit on his amazing jazzified drumming skills of the first two albums. This album is all about a logical post-rock procession from soft build ups to climactic guitar power chord crescendoes. Yep, pretty much like most post-rock out there. Somehow this band has lost its edge and now sounds as if it's drifting in a sea of generic amnesia. Oh no! This is surprising considering how much time has elapsed between albums. Even the tones and timbres seem to be set on auto pilot and all the quirks of the past have been laid to rest. The album is once again is the playing time of an average vinyl record of the past but two tracks race past the nine minute mark yet everything on this one is missing that spark of creativity that made the first two albums so special.

While there's nothing inherently displeasing about FINAL QUIET, unfortunately this one sounds like post-rock by the numbers rather than being infused with clever outbursts of creative mojo. This one is a little too sleepy for my tastes. Although heftier rock passages occur, this one very much spends a lot of its time teasing long piano rolls into layered instrumental interplay which pretty much only supports the main idea rather than crafting clever counterpoints. This one almost sounds like it needs a vocalist as it doesn't sound as rich. The tapestry of sound has unravelled and now all we get is a single strand. All i can say is that this one doesn't really do it for me and if this is a sign of the future for FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL then i do hope that the album title really refers to the FINAL part as much as the QUIET.

UNDERDOG UNDERFOOT is much like the debut in its stylistic approach. This is still post-rock influenced by progressive rock styles and focuses on the piano and keyboards as the main instrument to guide the cyclical loops of post-rockiness into shining glimmers of cinematic composition. The guitar heft also returns which includes not only grungy power chords but also the dueling guitar licks that create contrapuntal contrasts. Also on board is the bantering bass grooves in tandem with the percussive prowess of Watty who performs more ambitious than average drum gymnastics for a post-rock band.

This album features eight tracks that also add up to the traditional vinyl LP running time at 38 minutes. On the surface it's actually difficult to say what's different about UNDERDOG UNDERFOOT from the debut of six years prior but something about the compositions themselves sound as if they are constructed more in the Mogwai camp of song structures rather than the Mike Oldfield meets Explosions In The Sky methodology of the previous works. In other words this album sounds more like a traditional 21st century post-rock album whereas the previous sounded like a collage of progressive rock styles set out on a post-rock anthemic march in the rhythmic drive but there is a lot going on to separate these guys from the pack.

Pianos are quite rare in the world of post-rock with keys usually subjected to the role of atmospheric embellishment but FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL makes the instrument the most prominent feature as if some lounge lizard piano man suddenly got the urge to hook up with some posties and yet refuse to jettison his cocktail lounge piano style. The mix of this intimate dining sound with the heavier passages of rock heft and almost neo-prog guitar sweeps makes for yet another interesting and delightful album from those who make us distrustful of all things insect. You know i always thought flies were robots made by the government but to contemplate that they are spawns of Satan is just too much to ponder!

As with the previous works, UNDERDOG UNDERFOOT is a brilliant tightrope act that morphs from soft sensual piano led motifs to full blown hard rock din. The excellent instrumental interplay of these musicians is perfectly performed with each creating a unique side story to be told in this craftily controlled mix of various transitions from one mood to another. And this all happens without losing that string of what makes post-rock so distinctly what it is. Sure Russian Circles and Explosions In The Sky are still worthy comparisons but when it comes down to it, FLIES ARE SPIES really succeeded in scoring a unique stylistic approach and although only subtly different from the debut still exudes excellence.

The band has been all instrumental ever since and so far has released three albums, a remix album and a few EPs. RED EYES UNRAVELLING is the band's debut and was released in 2009 following the first release "Mountain Language EP" in 2007. Having constructed an interesting style of energetic cinematic post-rock, the band's sound was described as a bizarre fusion of Mike Oldfield and Explosions In The Sky. The same year the band founded the I Am Joy Arts Festival in their hometown of Chichester which featured all-instrumental bands that included post-rock, experimental noise and soundscape sculptors as well as others. Two of the three tracks form "Mountain Language EP" are included on this one ("Mountain Language," "King Sky.")

Between the release of the EP and this debut full-length, FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL shared stages with a great number of similarly minded bands including Red Paper Dragon, Monsters Build Mean Robots, Wild Dogs In Winter, Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar, Maybeshewill, *Shels, This Town Needs Guns, UpCDownC, A Genuine Freakshow, and Vessels. The band itself claims its music was primarily inspired by 65daysofstatic, Explosions In The Sky and Oceansize. Any way you slice it, FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL crafted its own unique style of dynamic and energetically delivered post-rock from the very beginning.

Unlike many modern bands especially in the post-rock world that manufacture ridiculously long albums that swallow up as much playing time as possible, RED EYES UNRAVELLING is presented in a merciful traditional vinyl album's playing time of just over 41 minutes. This carefully crafted set of seven tracks that wowed the critics once it was released having been touted as a post-rock act that was more challenging than many others in the scene and that fans of progressive rock in the context of post-rock would find appealing. The album was unfortunately delayed due to the age old problem of lightning strikes destroying the studio equipment but alas the band licked their wounds and became more determined than ever before!

One listen to FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL's debut and it becomes immediately clear what all the gushing reviews were all about. This is a band with a much more developed sense of musicality. Walking a tightrope act between the melodic compositional structures of King Crimson inspired progressive rock and the cyclical loop presentations of post-rock bands such as Explosions In The Sky, these southern England post-rockers accomplished something that many in the genre fail to recognize and that would be that the term post-rock contains the word ROCK within its agglutinating jurisdiction. In the vein of Russian Circles, FLIES ARE captured a wide range of soundscapes on RED EYES UNRAVELLING ranging from the typical soft passages of post-rock to heavier cacophonous uproars.

The music is intricately designed as if Godspeed You! Black Emperor was infused with classical musical riffs, heavier rock bravado and genuine interest in time signature deviations and elements that actually earn the progressive rock tag all without sacrificing the clear devotion to the framework of what one would deem post-rock in the 21st century. This is post-rock that actually unleashes complex drum rolls, dueling guitar riffs, independently minded neoclassical keyboard runs and a bantering bass groove that exists on its own trajectory. While no vocals exist, not even spoken samples, FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL will surely appeal to those who like a bit more rock heft in their post-rock.

The debut release of FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL was actually this short three track EP titled MOUNTAIN LANGUAGE. The band formed in 2004 in Chichester, England and due to lightning striking the studio equipment, the debut album "Red Eyes Unravelling" was not released until 2009. This short EP sort of got the ball rolling.

The title track displays the band in full action with one of the most energetic performances you can hear in the context of post-rock. Sounding something like a mix between Russian Circles, Explosions In The Sky and a sludge metal band, this opening title track features those famous cyclical loops that post-rock has to offer but with an energetic drive usually only heard in metal bands. Particularly enthralling is the drumming prowess of Watty who has apparently acquired some jazzy percussive skills on steroids.

"King Sky" slows things down a bit to mid-tempo and focuses on the atmospheric moodiness of the band which drifts from uplifting to melancholy throughout its playing time. The third and final track "Next Hour" slows things down even further and eliminates the rock altogether with lush clean guitar riffs, minimal percussion and a cyclical piano roll that remains the backbone of the entire track even when the track explodes into heavy rock splendor. Once again drummer Watty provides some serious skin whacking skills.

Of the three tracks on this short EP, only the closing "Next Hour" was never included on the debut album or any other release for that matter therefore the only reason to acquire this lil' shorty is for this track alone. While a decent post-rock track that offers some of the best the genre has to offer including some sick guitar frenzies, i wouldn't call it absolutely essential due to the fact it's pretty much out of the Russian Circles playbook. In all honesty the track should just be added to the debut full-length "Red Eyes Unravelling."

While the music here makes this worthy of a four star rating, the fact that the first two tracks are included on the debut full-length makes this one a bit unnecessary and really only a concern for completists who have to hunt down every possible tidbit that FLIES ARE SPIES FROM HELL ever released. This EP must've been quite an interesting release back in 2007 as it showcased a fully developed post-rock act that had set itself apart from its influences from the beginning but the next two years would find the band touring with many of its contemporaries and that would train the band to be even tighter and more defiantly unique.