Sketchie
Rifles of the 1900sI'm actually feeling kinda dizzy right now. Sketchie's latest release will do that, you know. Despite his age (as far as I can make out, he's barely out of his teens) Sketchie mainman, Joe Shetcliffe is producing some of the most emotional and mature music around. Just as a disclaimer, I have been wracking my brains for ages trying to figure out how to describe his beautiful blazing racket without sounding hideously pretentious, but I just can't. His music defies rational description. So here goes...
Somewhat reminiscent of Canadian rockers Godspeed You Black Emperor! with sequencers, this is the sound of post-apocalyptic wreckage, barren landscapes and corpse-filled alleys. The opening track, Feud at Saint Easts, elbows its way into your room with crashing breakbeats, mournful piano, overdriven guitars and ghostly voices, and gradually builds in intensity until crushingly loud, distorted voices push the sound even higher. By the end, you will be left sitting slack-jawed in awe.
The Fox Hunter Part 1 is respite from the carnage, featuring lonely flute and piano, plus some soft breaks and nifty rapping. It actually sounds a hell of a lot like cLOUDDEAD at their best. Loner Lay Blue returns to the enormous pastures of the opener. Strange mechanical clanking and eerie atmospherics waft out of the speakers to precede epic overdriven guitar melodies and funky beats. Again, you will be left breathless. Appropriately, Salute To Alone tones the drama down a notch and works as a perfectly lachrymose conclusion.
Shetcliffe has a very strong understanding of the exact emotional impact of every note he plays, and uses them to relentlessly yank at your heart-strings. His music caresses you with its beauty before crushing you with its power. This is the kind of music that is too good to stay a secret for long, so go, pick this up now.
Somewhat reminiscent of Canadian rockers Godspeed You Black Emperor! with sequencers, this is the sound of post-apocalyptic wreckage, barren landscapes and corpse-filled alleys. The opening track, Feud at Saint Easts, elbows its way into your room with crashing breakbeats, mournful piano, overdriven guitars and ghostly voices, and gradually builds in intensity until crushingly loud, distorted voices push the sound even higher. By the end, you will be left sitting slack-jawed in awe.
The Fox Hunter Part 1 is respite from the carnage, featuring lonely flute and piano, plus some soft breaks and nifty rapping. It actually sounds a hell of a lot like cLOUDDEAD at their best. Loner Lay Blue returns to the enormous pastures of the opener. Strange mechanical clanking and eerie atmospherics waft out of the speakers to precede epic overdriven guitar melodies and funky beats. Again, you will be left breathless. Appropriately, Salute To Alone tones the drama down a notch and works as a perfectly lachrymose conclusion.
Shetcliffe has a very strong understanding of the exact emotional impact of every note he plays, and uses them to relentlessly yank at your heart-strings. His music caresses you with its beauty before crushing you with its power. This is the kind of music that is too good to stay a secret for long, so go, pick this up now.
