Cold, cold heart - Wolf eyes, you're staring

Hailing from London and Chichester, trio Cold, cold heart would at first glance appear to be cut from the same instrumental post-rock cloth as Mogwai and Maybeshewill. Whilst fans of those bands will undoubtedly find something to love about their latest track, "Wolf eyes, you're staring", there's enough going on to distinguish them from their peers.

For a start, the band don't have a drummer or percussionist, giving the band a more delicate, sparser sound. It also means that they avoid the tried-and-tested trick of the 'build-build-build-boom' song structure that underpins a large chunk of the post-rock back catalogue, instead creating a song that ebbs and flows over it's 5 1/2 minute running time. "Wolf eyes, you're staring" is a stunningly beautiful piece of music.

"Wolf eyes, you're staring" is due to feature on the debut album of Cold, cold heart, which is due to be released in the spring.

Cloud Castle Lake - Sync

After hearing the first minute of "Sync", the first single from trio Cloud Castle Lake's debut E.P, I thought I'd written the corresponding review in my head that very moment. With the searing falsetto of Daniel McCauley, mixed with the atmospheric horn sections, it was monumentally clear -

Cloud Castle Lake are the Irish Sigúr Rós.

However, those crafty Dubliners obviously saw this coming, because after the first minute, the song changes tack completely, with the rhythms suddenly becoming more dance friendly, and the horns that had previously been atmospheric suddenly became triumphant and funky, all whilst still retaining the same earthy approach to the sound. As such, I had to amend my initial assessment slightly -

Cloud Castle Lake are the funky, Irish Sigúr Rós.

There. Problem solved. Now be sure to take a listen. I very much doubt you'll hear anything else like it today.

The debut E.P from Cloud Castle Lake, "Dandelion", will be released on September 22nd.

Cmn ineed yr hlp - It Came Without Warning...As Most Disasters Do

As the overwhelming success of the wonderful Public Service Broadcasting has demonstrated, people react incredibly positively to music that utilizes vocal samples from the past in order to successfully make the music of the present and future. Although there are bands on this side of the Atlantic who are doing this to great effect (like Fold, who recently remixed the aforementioned PSB), it's even nicer to hear bands doing the same on the other side.

Enter Cmn ineed yr hlp (sic), a trio hailing from Chicago. Their 2nd release, "It Came Without Warning...As Most Disasters Do", was launched earlier this month, and just like PSB, they use vocal samples as the basis for their music. However, that is largely where the similarities end. Whilst the samples used by PSB are largely used in context, the samples employed by Cmn ineed yr hlp have been taken from various public domain movies, newsreels, television shows and radio dramas in order to create an original, sci-fi influenced narrative. To quote the band:

"The album tells the tale of a gentle sea monster trapped and kept against his will for the amusement and profits of his oceanfront captors. Our protagonist becomes frustrated with his predicament and sets forth on a plan to escape, regardless of the cost in human life."

And in keeping with the epic scale of their narrative, the band's sound is found firmly within what is perhaps the most epic of all rock genres - post-rock. With it's uncompromising peaks, misleading troughs & complex guitar patterns over the release's 24 minutes, it calls to mind the darker moments of fellow post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar.

"It Came Without Warning..." will be somewhat an acquired taste for those who aren't big on post-rock, but with its sea monster anthemics, it's hard to deny that there is unlikely to be another album like it released in 2013.

"It Came Without Warning..." by Cmn ineed yr hlp is out to download now, both in a 5 track version and as one continuous song.

Meltybrains? - Intros Are So Original

You've really got to love a band who let you know exactly what you're setting yourself up for in their band name. This is most definitely the case with Irish 5-piece Meltybrains?. The quasi-mysterious group are one of a growing number of instrumental rock groups who are getting the island very excited indeed, and as their latest single, the rather sarcastically titled "Intros Are So Original" suggests, they have added their own spin on the form.

As its title suggests, "Intros Are So Original" seems to be inspired by the introductory tracks certain alternative artists' albums. Whilst it might be lazy to suggest that the song sounds like a mix between "Intro" and "Intro" by the xx and Foals respectively, borrowing the former's guitar sound and the latter's drum production, it is a decent starting point to describe what to expect. The group do expand beyond this base though, with the song adding some nifty electronics, as well as some expert fiddle playing that wouldn't sound  out of place on an Irish trad album.

So, will Meltybrains? um...melt your brain? Most definitely. But with instrumental-rock every bit as exciting as And So I Watch You From Afar or Maybeshewill, it will be a fun ride regardless.

"Intros Are So Original" is taken from their E.P "Attention! Now That We Have Your Attention", which will be released on May 20th as a limited edition t-shirt.

Miaou - Own Your Colours

Japanese post-rock trio Miaou will be releasing their fourth studio album, "The Day Will come Before Long," on September 8th, their first full length album in three years. The band have released two songs from the album as a preview of the album. "Lost Souls" features Radical Face frontman Ben Cooper on guest vocals, but the song that really grabs my attention is the fantastic "Own Your Colours."

"Own Your Colours" sits on the 'achingly beautiful' end of the post-rock spectrum, with the six minute instrumental track building up from it's surreal acoustic guitar/computer going haywire intro into a powerful, uplifting tour-de-force by its climax. Miaou's transcendal sound is definately not one of this earth, but what's wrong with that?