Seeing as Souvenir's Young America is from the same city as I am, I had heard a bit about the band (of mixed opinions) before I was actually able to check out their self-titled Underadar CD release for myself. From both what I've heard and what I've read, Souvenir's Young America has been compared to shitloads of different bands, from Zombi and Explosions in the Sky to Neurosis and Godflesh, not to mention Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Red Sparowes, among others. Well, no offense to any involved parties, but most of those comparisons are absolutely laughable, not to mention outright misleading in some instances due to their inaccuracies (in particular, comparing this material to the sheer might of Godflesh is deeply offensive on some level). Pretty much the only parallels that connect Souvenir's Young America to any of the aforementioned artists are the facts that they're an instrumental outfit and that they do offer a good breadth of dynamics that at times flirt with some prog rock-ish overtones. But just because something goes from quiet to loud to quiet to loud and so on, that doesn't mean it sounds like Explosions in the Sky, you know? And to be totally honest with you, I'm fucking glad this stuff doesn't sound like Explosions in the Sky. They're a great band and all, don't get me wrong, but I'm getting kind of tired of that style, it's extremely tired right now and far too many groups are borrowing from it. That being said, the progressive rock influences that seep into this work aren't blatant either, so you can pick up on them, but they don't sound like 70's throwbacks or anything, which is also nice. There's a weird sort of spaciness going on with the keyboard work, which is actually the driving force alongside the drumming in many instances, so… guitars surprisingly tend to take a back seat in many cases. Had I known in advance that keyboards were so central to this music I would have probably (unfairly) expected to totally hate this, but that's not the case at all. While I wouldn't particularly call what they're doing "experimental", it's certainly not traditionally formulated either, so… it's something different. I kind of wish they had a bassist for some reason, though. The percussion sounds fucking great and the various keyboards hold down the low-end just fine, but… I don't know, I still find myself missing bass!?

Souvenir's Young America "Letters From the Earth"

This one's pretty damn cheap, so I wholly encourage you to make the grab if you'd like to hear more:

@ Underadar
@ Stickfigure Distribution

Another instrumental act to recently pass my way is the Massachusetts trio Disappearer (featuring members of There Were Wires and Doomriders), who recently issued a self-titled EP on Trash Art!. The last two songs on this release actually come from a limited edition EP that came out back in 2004, but whatever the case you'll get a total of three tracks in over 35 minutes, so these are some real whoppers. Some of the material does flirt with a few of those effects and transitions that I've mentioned several times lately as being a little overdone these days, but I like the fact that they keep things relatively open and spacious rather than trying to beat you into the ground with oppressive heaviness, and as far as the somewhat "typical" elements are concerned, they do fit, and you can tell that these guys are coming from an entirely different direction than most of that stuff. The openness of the sound especially benefits the basslines, as they're quite prominent in the mix and play an extremely significant role in laying the foundation for the material as a whole. Really the entire rhythm section kicks ass – basically holding things down while also adding energy and color. The guitars kind of wander around and do their own thing, reuniting with the bass and drums on occasion to lock into a more straightforward rhythm. It's heavy, melodic, and dissonant all at once, while also combining naturally rigid structures with looser and more relaxed playing styles. Oh, and the packaging is printed entirely on vellum for some nice transparent effects! Good stuff.

Disappearer "Crownfire" (excerpt)

I would've posted a slightly longer clip for these guys, but I didn't have time to fix one up this morning, so I just jacked this one from the label's site. You should get the idea. And you know how it goes… buy the shit if you dig it:

@ Trash Art!
@ Very Distribution