Album Review: Steering By Stars - Cables [2010, Independent]

I get the feeling that people either love or hate the post-rock genre. I also get the feeling that many people simply don’t know enough about it, considering that it's not exactly the most radio friendly music going round. Have you ever actually heard of Mogwai song being played on the radio? I guess it is fortunate that I happen to really enjoy listening to bands such as the aforementioned Mogwai and other masters of the genre like Explosions in the Sky. For that reason, I get excited when I see and hear Australian bands who embrace such influences.

The debut long player from Adelaide quartet Steering by Stars, Cables is notable on such a basis. Comparitively few contemporary Australian bands embrace the post-rock genre. Decoder Ring is an obvious exception. At a stretch, you might include PVT (or Pivot as they were once known) or My Disco. Mr Maps is a great local Brisbane example.

On first listen, Cables seems reminiscent of paths walked by Decoder Ring. Early track ‘Spirits’ sounds like it would be found on Decoder Ring's They Blind the Stars and the Wild Team. Standout track ‘Closer’ comes fairly early in the mix and shares a similar genealogy. However, 'Closer' is as good as anything produced by the band’s contemporaries, featuring a slow burning instrumental weaving and yearning vocal melody that builds to the triumphant conclusion that seems so common within the genre. It is visceral stuff.





While often elative, there is always a danger that such formulas might become overwrought. Thankfully, Steering by Stars seem keenly aware of this potential pitfall and vary the record accordingly. ‘Blush Response’ uses layers of keyboard sounds and effects to create a reflective mood while ‘Gloom’ is nothing more than a instrumental piano ballad. As such, both tracks are well placed to take the listener back down to ground level after the peak of the aforementioned 'Closer'.

Like many of the individual songs, the record builds towards crescendo. “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon” (whose vocal lines perhaps strangely reminds me of Scottish indie group Arab Strap) begins what I believe the strongest part of the record. Drawn out over four songs, the ending stanzas speak with both brooding and unkempt enthusiasm. ‘These Knives’ begins with a frantic and overlapping delay effects before settling into a rock groove. I'd wager that it is this song that could really work well within the live setting. ‘Ether’, perhaps the most radio friendly song on the record, embraces a more indie pop mentality while closing track ‘Residue’ is a great track in isolation, but even more stunning as the concluding part of a four-part movement. These songs all seem to connect so effortlessly together that they almost seem like one large composition.

Indeed, the entire record plays out like a sine wave. It goes through sonic peaks and valleys, allowing the listener to be engaged by the differing layers of sounds, timbres, and textures. This metaphor is not a reflection on the quality of the record. That graph will be most certainly linear, if not exponential, for some listeners.

I feel that one shouldn’t constrain a band by its alleged influences. If you’re a fan of the post-rock genre, Decoder Ring, Mogwai, you’re going to get something out of this record. If you’re a fan of acts like Deerhunter or Sigur Ros, you’re going to get something out of this. Even fans of more esoteric groups like the Mars Volta might even appreciate some of the tones that shine through. I’m not going to end by saying this band are the Australia’s ‘next big thing’ (doesn’t every record review end this way?), but Steering By Stars Cables is an enjoyable record and worthy of your pocket money.

Have a listen to 'Ether' by clicking here.

The record is available both electronically and on vinyl (no cd?) on July 8th. Keep your eyes out on their website, where you can grab a mp3 copy of 'Closer' on the media page. Fellow blogger Bianca also did a great interview with the band recently which you might find interesting, just click here to access.

Decoder Ring, Bridezilla @ The Zoo, Brisbane, August 22, 2009

Are Decoder Ring the Australian incarnation of Scottish post-rock maniacs Mogwai? There are certainly a lot of similarities – long epic jam-outs devoid of vocals, melodies that seem to wash over you like acid, burning through your eardrums and knifing into the emotional response receptors of your brain. Regardless of the lofty comparisons, Decoder Ring are as equally enthralling as their northern hemisphere brethren.

A Decoder Ring concert is a dramatic, visceral, and enjoyable exercise. I’ve managed to catch them a number of times but their recent set at the Zoo was the first time I’ve seen them in the post-Lenka, fully instrumental guise. I was a bit sceptical about how they would go about pulling this off, but I should not have been. After all, the band started off as an instrumental electronic-rock act.

As any aspiring music critic does, I arrive too late to catch the first support, whom I’m told on good authority were quite enjoyable. A shame, really. Anyway, Sydney indie outfit Bridezilla, the primary support act, put on a worthy performance that caught me a bit unawares. I had managed to catch them at the Golden Plains festival earlier in the year and they seemed a bit unsure of themselves. However, this performance allayed my doubts. Front-woman Holiday Sidewinder and her Abbie Dobson-esque vocals are the stuff of teenage boy wet dreams, and the violins and saxophone provide fresh dynamics that make the songs, well, a lot more interesting than the usual triple-j ilk that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment. “Chainwork”, “St. Francine” and “Forth and Fine” make appearances during what is a very enjoyable set.

Decoder Ring manages to walk out on stage just before eleven o’clock to a crowd that both seem very appreciative and very inebriated. Actually, I was puzzled by the appearance so many people who seemed so outrageously drunk. For a brief moment I pondered if these characters might be Coldplay fans that had converted to the church of Decoder Ring after the band appeared supporting the British pop behemoths during their recent tour of the country. Of course, this relies on the assumption that Coldplay fans are all severe alcoholics, an argument backed up by the fact that I feel I have to be completely hammered to enjoy Chris Martin’s increasingly boring brand of pop-rock.

Decoder Ring play many of the songs from their recent album “They Blind the Stars, and the Wild Team”. Visual effects that rapidly flicker between cavorting horses and bird migrations keep the eyes occupied while the band plays epic song after epic song, repeating and converging melodies and sounds like they were going out of fashion. My personal favourite from the new record, “Charlotte Ramping” appears early in the set along with “And Grass Will Grow Over Your Cities”. Lead single “Beat the Twilight” prompts wild celebrations from a drunk guy next to me, causing him to shake his fists in the air with unbridled enthusiasm. An instrumental track from Somersault makes an appearance, before they take the foot off the pedal, playing some slower numbers like “Point No Point”. The highlight of the evening has to be the drum’n’bass infused “Serac” from “Fractions”, followed by distortion draped “Welcome Shoppers” from their first long player – arguably the two best songs of the night and cause bodies writhe with pleasure within a sweat dance pit, while senses are sucked out of people’s brains as Decoder Ring construct a gravitational singularity within the venue, and peoples minds’ are dragged beyond an event horizon. You could say I was somewhat impressed.

The band indulge the audience with a perfunctory encore and retire into the night, like gregarious vampires, never to be seen again…..at least until the next date on their Australian tour. They’re not Mogwai, but they are every bit as accomplished.

New Tunes From Decoder Ring

It seems that Australia's 'Mogwai' (a pretty inaccurate description in my book), Sydney group Decoder Ring are about to release the follow up to the great 'Fractions' LP. After touring around the country supporting Coldplay (strange choice of touring buddies if you ask me but I suppose great for mainstream exposure), it looks like they'll release the new album in Mid 2009.

It seems that the universally adored Lenka who sung vocals on 'Somersault' and the aforementioned 'Fractions' will not be a part of the new record, having gone solo and sowing the seeds of pop stardom in the United States (don't quote me on this, but the internet reports that she is no longer in involved).

Hopefully they'll tour again without attaching themselves to stadium soft rock bands so I might actually get the chance to see them for a reasonable price!

You can download 'Beat the Twilight', a sample of the new work at Decoder Ring's official website.