Bury The Sound - Autumn Magnets EP
[Hidden Shoal Recordings]

Hidden Shoal Recordings may be an energetic and forward thinking international label, but that doesn't mean that they neglect homegrown talent. The Australian label recently signed Melbourne based quartet Bury The Sound to their cosmopolitan roster proving that domestic music is very much in their thoughts. With an already valuable reputation in and around the post-rock, ambient, shoegaze and indie rock genres, HSR have scored again with Bury The Sound and the release of their debut EP.

"Autumn Magnets" sees Bury The Sound operating in the stratosphere somewhere between early Mogwai and the unpredictable space rock genre and provide some wonderfully dynamic slabs of instrumental rock. Rich guitar melodies mesh with thundering bass work, while keyboard washes provide a nice psychedelic element throughout. It is all held together by some interesting percussion that recalls the more complex nature of a few post-rock artists.

Although there is nothing particlarly ground-breaking about Bury The Sound's music, it shouldn't matter. Especially when tracks like the powerful opener "What Would One Become" rock harder than Lemmy, Ozzy and Jimmy Page together on a 72-hour Jack Daniels bender. The guitar work here is so thick with melody that it almost floods through your speakers. Using an array of effects, guitarist Tim Clarke has developed a vibrant style. The creamy guitar notes around the 4 minute mark, for example, is testament to this. Building purposefully, with some nice Mogwai style guitar interplay, this track erupts skyward with a massive wall of spacey distortion.

Guitar notes intertwine with some psychedlic synths to open next track "Saratoga", with each note deliberately and delicately urging the band forward. However, rather than go for the predicatable post-rock explosion/crescendo route, the band instead opt to let the track drift out into the sunset with a space-rock jam that features a gorgeous bass melody that recalls "Ten Rapid"-era Mogwai.

Rounding things off with the Floyd-tinged stylings of "Gemini Unbound", dreamy, reverbed guitars can be heard in the distance while a subdued piano line takes the lead. Once the listener is lulled into a false sense of security, the full band kick into action, proving that Bury The Sound are as tight a unit as they come. The instrumentation, particularly towards the end during those rockier moments, is executed expertly. Surely a full album release beckons for this quartet.

Autumn Magnets EP Track Listing:

1. What Would One Become
2. Saratoga
3. Gemini Unbound