Devolver – Christs Lane
free album (DOWNLOAD!) self-released 2010
[tags: indie rock, psychedelic, FREE ALBUMS, great music, 2010, approved downloads]
Listen while reading:
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One of the things I keep mentioning: I like Yo La Tengo, let’s say I love ‘em – or even better: YLT are my all time favorite band. I loved Yo La Tengo since I started listening to so called “indie” music – what was way before I started to listen to folk music. This explains why no folksy band made number one. I just mention this to show that I also have some real love for good indie rock and to use it as an explanation why today’s featured band got nothing in common with the music normally reviewed here. But sometimes an album just grabs you and you feel that it has to be something special. And listening to Christs Lane just gave me this feeling.
Devolver are a young band from Montreal/Canada which is about to release their second full length album this year. The debut record was called Sky Of Holes and can be downloaded in its entirety by clicking the following link. Originally I wanted to introduce the band by reviewing both albums, but after some rounds in the player I don’t think Sky Of Holes plays in the same league as Christs Lane, though it had its moments, e.g. with the nice homage to Flying Saucer Attack (a band highly underrated). But you know my philosophy : I don’t want to use this blog for writing negative reviews – why there will be none. But again I strongly want to point out the opportunity to download Sky Of Holes for free (band approved) by clicking this link. But now let’s move on to the upcoming follow up record.
Sky Of Holes had one feature which can also be found on the new record: the lo-fi attitude of the recording (which by the way was one of the main characteristics of the above mentioned Flying Saucer Attack). And so I see both albums straight in line with the old hometaping is reinventing music movement. At least it seems to fit the overall character of the music. And here we arrived at the most important point: the absolute quality of the songs. It’s a long time since I heard such great indie rock tunes and such a varied album. I clearly hear some Yo La Tengo influences (note: I always hear Yo La Tengo influences if I like an indie rock band), but also the psych moments of haunting Flying Saucer Attack atmospheres are present. Sleep the Golden Ages is the best example that combines both elements. But I don’t want to reduce Devolver to both bands – I honestly think they have a very own style. At least the overall impression of the whole album seems to indicate this, for tracks like Seems Unkind or my favorite, Suncreep, are absolutely brilliant but also very distinct from tracks like the Marilyn Manson like sounding Promise or the gentle Afternoon that sounds like a vocalized B-Side version of Yo La Tengo’s opner Beach Party Tonight from the stellar Summer Sun album.
So…I could write a lot of words more to praise the album, but I don’t think this is really necessary. The main facts are said: Christs Lane is great, sounds like YLT and FSA, still with own style – ah and I totally forgot the best thing about it: the album isn’t released yet, but Marc (the man behind the moniker) was so kind to provide a download link and urged me to share it with all of you. Isn’t that just absolutely amazing? And because it is, I highly recommend DOWNLOADING THE ALBUM FOR FREE RIGHT NOW BY CLICKING HERE. If you like Indie rock that never gets too hard and is psychedelic with some nice noise elements, but also with some indie rock pop moments, you should go back to the previous sentence and start downloading right now! If you don’t like indie rock, you don’t want to check out the band’s (very annoyingly looking) MySpace. Christs Lane is a killer and it will score high in my indie rock list at the end of the year.
Listen while reading:
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