Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: Kelvox1 – Grazed Red (no label) download
October 6, 2011 at 9:00 am 3 comments
Kelvox1 - Grazed Red
Cambridge seems to be quite the unlikely hive of outsider musical activity right now, what with the hauntological techno of Nochexxx and his gang. Elsewhere on the Cambridge fringe, we have Kelvox1 – absolutely the finest new British post-rock band this here blog has heard in quite a few years. The band’s new album, Grazed Red, is currently available as a free (FREE!) download and it’s an absolute gem.
Grazed Red clocks in around the 35-minute mark but it features just two epic-length songs. And they really are songs – played by a band! In a room! This sense of organically expanded song-form immediately brings to mind Bark Psychosis’s classic “Scum” single. Kelvox1 certainly have the slow-burning moodiness to justify that comparison but nothing here is quite as dank and nocturnal as “Scum”. That is to say, the arrangements are colourful and vivid, in a fashion that recalls the electronically-enhanced-chaos-in-a-jam-room ambiance of Disco Inferno’s DI Go Pop. The sullen vocals certainly add to this.
Obviously, these comparisons put Kelvox1 very much in the UK post-rock continuum. However, where other bands with the same influences (Epic45 and Hood spring to mind) don’t really add much to the mix, Kelvox1 clearly have their own thing going on. Grazed Red is a genuinely ambitious and singular piece of work – certainly not perfect but all the better for its ragged edges.
A physical release is tentatively planned. It would be an absolute treat to own this thoroughly laudable album on vinyl. Fingers crossed!
(Note: Sorry for repeatedly misspelling the band’s name in the original version of this post. That’s what happens when you operate your blog according to a strict One Draft, No Proofreading policy.
Also, apparently you can’t download the album any more because the plan for a physical release has become a whole lot less tentative. You can still stream it, though – and you should!)
Entry filed under: post-rock, Post-Rocktoberfest 2011, UK post-rock. Tags: post-rock, Post-Rocktoberfest 2011, UK post-rock.
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