Spaceslug - Eye the Tide

By Hera Vidal. It’s taken me a while to finally get to Spaceslug’s Eye the Tide, a slow burn of an album that eventually seeps into your skin. First track “Obsolith” is an easy starter that lazily drags along the surface. Heavy blues-tinged guitars create a comfortable, consistent rhythm that makes you want to groove and move your body to the beat.

By Hera Vidal.

Artwork by Maciej Kamuda.

It’s taken me a while to finally get to Spaceslug’s Eye the Tide, a slow burn of an album that eventually seeps into your skin.

First track “Obsolith” is an easy starter that lazily drags along the surface. Heavy blues-tinged guitars create a comfortable, consistent rhythm that makes you want to groove and move your body to the beat. The song exudes a sensuality that I tend to associate with post-metal. It feels like touching a live wire whose current emits a warmth that feels intimate.

The layered vocals sounds like a unified voice. All members sing on the album, but if you listen closely, you can hear all the different timbres. For the most part though, the music focuses on the instruments, as if the band recorded this while they were jamming out in someone’s basement. The use of reverb and tone throughout the album seems to also be a character in itself, coming and going when it pleases. There isn’t a focus on it, but when it comes, you will hear it and be swept by it.

As the album continues the vibe seems to shift, going from that relaxed, intimate atmosphere to something a little more sinister. In the third track “Eternal Monuments” the repetitiveness heard in “Obsolith” begins to combine with lower guitar tones. The beat slows and fades away into the next track, “Words Like Stones”, where the music becomes more aggressive with harsh vocals and even blast beats. Like a drug-taking experience, where the psychedelia kicks in about halfway through and then you can only bask in it. The music also tend to drone in the latter half, as the atmosphere ebbs and flows between laziness and mania.

I found myself coming back to Eye the Tide at different times throughout the past year, each time liking it more. Spaceslug's blend of stoner doom is a delight we all need to hear.

Alcest - Spiritual Instinct

By Justin C. I finally had the opportunity see Alcest live when they toured with their last record, Kodama. As a long-time fan, it was a fantastic experience: a small venue and a band putting everything they had into their performance. I remember being struck by how heavy Alcest can be, especially on stage.

By Justin C.


I finally had the opportunity to see Alcest live when they toured with their last record, Kodama. As a long-time fan, it was a fantastic experience: a small venue and a band putting everything they had into their performance. I remember being struck by how heavy Alcest can be, especially on stage. That’s not necessarily unusual--the energy of playing in front of a live audience plus many amplifiers often kick up a band’s power quotient. But what I didn’t realize at the time is that it was a little bit of a preview of the energy they’d bring to their next new album, Spiritual Instinct.

Invisible Oranges did an interesting interview with Neige, and in it, he describes this album as a kind of catharsis, a (slight) step away from his more “otherworldly” musical ideas and incorporating more darkness. Make no mistake--this is Alcest-level heavy. This isn’t a brutal death metal album that comes pitched to you as “PANCREAS-RIPPING BRUTALITY ARGGHGHHGHGH!1!!!1!” The very Alcest-ian sense of melody and sweeping soundscapes remain present, but what you do get from Spiritual Instinct is a harder-driving energy than you might expect.

Photos by Abrisad.

The opening track, “Les Jardins De Minuit” (roughly translated, “The Garden of Midnight”), starts out with a pulsing bassline joined by a keening, single-note guitar riff. It’s not long before we’re into some frenetic drums and tremolo riffs with clean, melodic singing riding the wave until Neige punctuates the whole thing with his black metal shrieks. If that sounds like what you usually expect from Alcest, you’re not wrong, but the song kicks off a propulsive feel that carries through the rest of the album, both in the more metal parts and the quieter, introspective interludes. Previous Alcest albums made me want to transport to a different dimension--the dreamworld from Neige’s childhood that drives so much of his musical vision--but this album makes me want to make that journey on a rocket.

One of my favorite tracks, “Le Miroir,” showcases the stronger sense of duality in this album. The song starts with a gently ascending and descending guitar line, swelling and deflating like slow, meditative breathing. (Try breathing along with it--it’s doing wonders for my anxiety.) The line is eventually layered with Neige’s crystal clean vocals, light electronic touches, and distorted guitars. The drums build and eventually recede. It’s not the heaviest track on the album by any means, but again, there’s that sense of motion and release.

It’s easy to get hung up on the heaviness level of Alcest albums. Is this one more or less black metal than the last one, or is this more of their shoegaze side? But as Neige said himself in the IO interview, “There is something people like about us, and it’s also something we like about ourselves which is the fact that we keep the Alcest touch — this thing that makes us Alcest — but every time we sound different.” I think that’s key to their enduring appeal. There’s always that underlying essence that makes their sound instantly recognizable, regardless of whether Neige is trying exorcise some demons or float through the ether.

Irata - Tower

By Matt Hinch. Apparently Irata has been around since 2007 but I've never come across their name until now. Also, from what I hear, they've gone through some evolution through math-y and fusion realms to reach the point they're at now. While it would be interesting to dig into those

By Matt Hinch.

Watercolor by Santos.

Apparently Irata has been around since 2007 but I've never come across their name until now. Also, from what I hear, they've gone through some evolution through math-y and fusion realms to reach the point they're at now. While it would be interesting to dig into those formative albums preceding this monster 2019 offering, Tower there's enough right here to keep you entertained. If I had to play my hand early on what Tower is all about I'd say "immersive heavy rock fused together with a slight 90s alternative vibe, pop sensibilities, and a tendency toward progressiveness kept in check by a thunderous foundation."

What does that mean? It means Jon Case (bass/vocals), Jason Ward (drums/vocals/synth) and guitarists Cheryl Manner and Owen Burd gather together a variety of styles and feelings, molding them into one of 2019's brightest shining gems.

The title track gets things started with a chugging force meeting bright slices of light (more on that later) shaded by the accessibility of a band like Torche, vocally at least. This song is relatively short. The themes and general feeling are further expanded upon throughout the album. The key word here is "feeling". Irata make you FEEL the whole time. "Waking Eye" is a good example. The chorus gets right into your soul, screaming guitars bite into a swirl of motion amid proggy riffs, and you're taken home by a controlled freakout at the end. The instrumental portion, something Irata does very well, comes with full spectrum dynamics and an enveloping and penetrating essence. A soothing bassline anchors melodic vocals and guitars during one of the album's quieter moments and gives it a somewhat Tool-like impression. That's not the only time Tool comes to mind either. Also, sometimes you could lift a riff from this and plop it into a Mastodon song and it would fit right in. The surrounding parts give Irata their own identity though.

"Crawl to Corners" really plays into the feeling of light with the guitars. There's a sense or a vision of light filtering through a canopy of trees and clouds, or sparkling upon moving water. It feels like life and growth, a counter to the mournful trumpet that opens the track. However, when they move into crushing mode the darkness comes swiftly.

Closer "Constellations" features those smooth vocals (quite common throughout), sweet bass and incredible groove. It captures a sense of space. Not just the space with the stars but openness and size. The opposite of oppressing even when they hammer the listener with a concentrated attack. It also feels like being thrust forward with all things passing by in a blur but the impressions left and clear and welcome.

Overall the album feels very put together. There's an effortless technicality in the way the guitars weave together on different paths which makes them hit that much harder when everyone comes together. I'm sure there was plenty of effort involved but it flows so well that the listener at least doesn't have to try hard to enjoy it.

It's a beautiful album. "Weightless" is my favourite example. It's 4:20 long and that was probably what time it was when I first heard it if you take my meaning. Vocals soar over crunchy riffs while taking you to the clouds. The whole song makes you feel alive and weightless indeed. It is, as stated on the track, "...so beautiful. So goddamn beautiful!"

Tower is simply captivating. Irata manage to bring a heaviness together with beauty, catchiness, and emotion in a way that feels transcendent. It lifts the listener up, puts them through a range of emotions and leaves them to experience the album from their own angle. I've found myself spellbound and on the verge of overwhelmed. It's a powerful album that leaves a varied and deeply satisfying impression. You won't be disappointed.