Adam KeysAdore // Repel – Empty Orchestra (Shoveitupyourcult Records)
Genre – Post rock
ADORE // REPEL are a four-piece from Wakefield, West Yorkshire; a fiercely independent band with their own record label, who are currently building their own studio, who operate without a booking agent or manager, and embrace everything that has always been so healthy about the DIY ethic.
Recorded at the renowned Nave Studios in Leeds and released on their own Shoveitupyourcult Records, Empty Orchestra reveals a band brimming with intensity, beauty and ferocity.
Opening with Intro, ADORE // REPEL dive head first into the post rock warmth of this album, with slow deep sounds that centre around expertly crafted electric melodies and a drummer that controls the tempo of the album from start to finish.
The album’s second track Months Ago sees the four piece take things to another level after their lullabied opener, with a slow, but uplifting build up leading to euphoric, climactic ending with guitars so sharp they’ll cut you if get too close. Months Ago also sees the introduction of vocals for first time (the last thirty seconds of the track) and they brilliantly juxtapose the intricacies of the track their venomous growl.
This suspense building vibe continues throughout Sticks In The Crow and Jim Helwig, as listeners are treated to a mesmerising display by a band that are so beautifully engulfed in their music that they appear to have lost all connection with the outside world, with vocals again remaining minimalistic.
Although vocals are kept to a minimal on this almost instrumental album, the sounds protruding from this record are anything but. Instead, they occupy such a precise, clean atmosphere that they almost don’t seem in tune from the orthodox feedback infused post rock / shoegazing sound.
Empty Orchestra’s concentrated, penetrating style focuses heavily on the nuances within, but Secret Road part ll takes them down a whole new path. The track has all the build-up and atmospheric sound of a real modern rock gem, and sees them drift away from the absorption of the album’s neighbouring tracks.
ADORE // REPEL’s intense craftsmanship, littered with sparse growling vocals, is almost reminiscent to that of one of Northern Ireland’s finest exports – And So I Watch You From Afar, despite the Irishmen being much more metal orientated in their style. This genre crossing comparison only goes to highlight this originality of this band and the unique nature of their sound. Although there are reference points within, the overall sound is that of its own, and that in itself is a true testament to these ambitious Yorkshiremen.
RUSHONROCK RATED – 8.5/10 Deep, melodic and intensely original.
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