Worriedaboutsatan – Arrivals [Gizeh Records]

It’s finally here Worriedaboutsatan’s album Arrivals has landed, in your record store on the 25th May. They have been working on it for a year or more now and if you’re a regular reader you’ll maybe remember previous posts on the demos and rough mixes of album tracks that they sent over. But now the finished article is here in its full glory.

Arrivals is a slight departure in sound to previous material the take their beloved ambient post-rock electronica roots and squeeze in their love for minimal techno with truly wonderful results. Electronica and post-rock have long had a relationship but post-rock and minimal, well it’s a new one. The two are joined together effortlessly by Gavin and Tom of Worriedaboutsatan with a subtle pallet of sounds and enchanting song writing.

The album flows effortlessly from one track to the next with the help of small dot named segments of the title track ‘Arrivals’ along with tannoy samples announcing tweaked and freaked coded messages to passengers. Opening track ‘One Down’ really sets the scene, from out of the blue you get bright pads and a gentle build into a big bass drop that loops and draws you in. The only track with a vocal of sorts ‘Evil Dogs’ is a killer track with a dubbed out atmosphere that opens into some beautiful yet sad chords like a minimalist classical piece being tweaked into ambient shape. The beats and bass tones really do propel this one forward as the ghostly vocals swoop in a high and beautifully subtle falsetto taken through a bed of effects.

It’s good to see ‘Pissing About’ didn’t get a name change since the demo stage, plus it’s a monster of a track in a Luciano meets Mono kind of way. The pulsing bass rings out loud and clear over a minimal kick and energetic jacking arpeggios that get tweaked and dubbed out as ambient soundscapes make for a dreamy background. ‘History Is Made At Night’ is in a similar vain but a lot more subtle, glitchy and organic; it’s an undisputed highlight. The way the hook blips and flips into action against the huge kick drum and baseline is sublime.

The delicate guitar ballad ‘You’re In My Thoughts’ is a beautiful melancholic number full of melody. The synth lines and bowed guitar build in layers to create a real sense of hope and subdued joy. Then when it builds it turns into something else all together. The way the beats are slightly industrial and skippy remind me of early SAW era Aphex Twin especially with the subtle and moving chords playing above.

The subtle almost drone like ambient track ‘All Things But You Are Silent’ makes good use of guitars and whooshes with a gentle build up of electronics. It’s a wicked transition to the album closer, ‘Arrivals’ which maybe without noticing you’ve been hearing bits of here and there throughout your journey so when it kicks off you get a feeling like you’ve been here before yet all at once you’re somewhere new. It’s a wonderful track that builds subtly with sampled vocals and violin like sounds and bows on guitars before glitches and bass take you deep, it’s mesmerising. There is a real sense that you’re home from a journey, the vibe is weary yet comfortable and somehow joyous in a slightly melancholy way.

Arrivals is a wicked album and Worriedaboutsatan really do have potential to crossover by joining some post-rock and alternative guitar music fans with the electroinica and minimal crowds. This idea is further enforced by the band dropping a second CD full of remixes, from the likes of P45 and Marco Zenker with the limited addition release of the record.




Previous Worriedaboutsatan Posts

Download: Worriedaboutsatan – You’re In My Thoughts

http://www.myspace.com/worriedaboutsatan

http://www.gizehrecords.com/

Pre-Order: Worriedaboutsatan – Arrivals