65DAYSOFSTATIC

I think the main thing that is appealing to me about this album isn't actually the post rock, but the electronica infused within. To me, the general beauty comes from this glitchy, and very breaking electronic sound each song has, that plays in tandem to the very sublime math rock technicalities and post rock crescendos. Now, you can have a good mix of these two, but you gotta really sell it for me, and I think this band does this perfectly by having these moments in time where the genres can really shine the brightest, but also still work in tandem. There are equal moments of electronic greatness here, and equal moments post rock that it all becomes so beautiful in the end. I say it creates an enthralling experience like no other.

I think the best thing about this album too is that it has a perfect beginning and end. Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here is my favorite 65daysofstatic song as it perfectly introduces the big electronic and post rock mix they go with, and in that mix they feature this beautiful sound of disorienting, but truly wonderful music that I cannot help but get hooked for, especially when I immediately hear those first few piano keys that get faster and faster the more things build up.

This also goes for Radio Protector as well, but where as Drove Through ghosts To Get Here was a song that was meant to hook in the listener with its charms and build ups, Radio Protector feels like a true finale for this album, mostly being this piano and key driven piece that goes through more somber moments, while still finding those moments that of electronica greatness that allows the song to truly feel like a closer worth striving for. While the album isn't long, it most certainly is an epic piece in my mind, and so this closer is perfect for it. Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here through Radio Protector is a musical beauty that I cannot help but be overjoyed with.

If I will be honest for a second, this album, for me, beats Lift Your Skinny Fists from GY!BE by a hair, and that album is like THE post rock record. I just think One Time For All Time is not only a fantastic album, but dare I say THE best post rock LP ever? Is it my favorite release under the post rock genre? No, that title goes to Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada, but even then, if you don't count EPs in the mix, then yes, absolutely it is my favorite. It just does so much right for me that this is truly a shining gem for me. An absolutely amazing and beautiful album.

This EP has the post rock attitude, but utilizes a lot of the electronics that the band was using at the time. They would veer away from this becoming more of a math rock on their first album, but they would also return to using more electronics later. Starting with "Play Nice Kids" (4:08), you can hear the interesting mix of math rock and electronica, and, quite frankly, it is a nice unique sound. It is this style that sets the band apart from most other post and math rock bands. The sound is glitchy, yet smart. The music can be quite quirky and has a nice degree of unpredictability to it. This sound continues with "Thrash Waltz" (4:43) which uses a basic 6 / 8 feeling, but then manipulates it so much that it is difficult to tell. A combination of electronics and post rock guitar creates a nice fuzzy sound that makes the usual clean sound of electronic sound almost like garage rock. It makes me wonder why we don't hear more of this sound in the post rock world as a bit of experimentalism like this never hurts anyone.

"AOD" (6:28) takes the quirkiness of the glitch rock down a few notches and ends up with a more laid back and mellow sound. The electronics are still there, but the addition of vibe-like keyboard sounds make this similar to a "Tortoise" track. It definitely utilizes the more sparse sound of the song to it's advantage, and fuzzy guitars stay on the softer side in the background, just to remind you that this is still the same band. A quick increase in intensity close to the 4 minute mark brings the guitars to the fore and a thicker wall of heavy sound comes in. This all eventually cools down as sounds of feedback complain at the unwillingness of the guitars to let go, but the electronics eventually win out and leave us with a soft ambient ending.

"DNL.mash-up" (4:29) starts with a repeating keyboard phrase that suddenly gets overpowered by tortured guitars and a slapping percussive effect. Halway through, a miasma of sounds swirl around in a noisy whirlwind of electronic effects, synths and guitar layers, and everything finishes off in an industrial style noise fest. "Ophelia.remix" (7:29) begins with thick layers of sound that is only penetrated by a synth loop. A sudden rapid fire percussion loop underlays a contrasting guitar melody which is chopped up and diced about to give an unpredictable and quirky sound. When most of the noise suddenly comes to a screeching halt trailing along feedback in it's wake, things become quite a bit softer for a while, only to later become glitchy again. Tonal percussion and fast beats contradict the slow and lumbering guitar noise wall that crescendos until it almost takes everything over again, only to be broken down once more.

One of the things I have enjoyed about 65daysofstatic is their willingness to take the tried and true formulas of post and math rock and completely grind it all up and spit it out in a completely new sound that is so unique to this band. Though I am not always a fan of the percussive effects used in much of the electronic music, they utilize it all in ways that make it all interesting and new. Though this band has now been around for quite a while, and has experimented with it's overall sound, this album foretells the direction the band would eventually wander off in. It's sometimes hard to tell if the music is more progressive electronic than it is math or post rock, but it definitely does combine elements of both to an extreme in this EP. If you can't find that rare physical copy, then you should at least listen to it digitally.

Also, as on the first volume, the music is a mix of post rock guitars with a lot of electronics. This was the band's sound before their debut album and it would also become the direction they would take later with their post rock sound, adding a lot of electronics to it.

This volume starts with "Don't Kill Me" which is a remix of the song "Don't Tell Me" by Avril Lavigne. The track takes a portion of Lavigne's song and wreaks havoc with it electronically. This is followed by "Natasha Beats the Devil", another remix this time from an original track by Natasha Bedingfield. Electronic beats are added, a portion of the chorus is repeated and the accompaniment is a distorted string/synth sound. It gets a little annoying by the end. Yet another remix of Christine Aguillera's track "Dirty" called "30 Seconds of Pure Heaven" follows this, but it is quite short and it quite efficiently destroys the track.

Next follows an original 65daysofstatic track called "Crystal Splinters, City Skies". This one is pretty much a synth/electronic track with some post rock guitars mixed towards the back of this track which gets rather noisy at times. Next is "F*cking with Pillheads", another original electronic track that features samples of various things, including Bruce Springsteen singing "65" again. The samples are quite funny and the track is quite sarcastic.

"It's Guy Time" is a hilarious remix of "Senora" by Justin Timberlake. The vocals are quite warped and the track is completely wrecked. "Uplifting Chart Trance" is another remix of a trance track "Sandstorm" by Darude, with other funny samples. "Feels Like Ecstacy" is a remix of "My Little Fantasy" a disco song by 4 Tune Fairtytales. This one gets totally destroyed.

"65's Hole Sea Shanty Remix" does sound like a bunch of sailors singing when it starts, and the band does all kinds of electronic treatments to it and even tries to get their signature post rock sound wrapped around it by the end of the track. "Aren't We All Running" is a remix done by Feedle, otherwise know as Graham Clarke. The original track is one of 65daysofstatic's tracks from "The Fall of Math". This one is reconstructed quite extensively, and almost unrecognizable.

"Fix the Sky a Little" is another original by the band, again remixed by Digitonal, this time Feedle's vocals are added right at the end of the track. This time the original track has been made quite ambient and pensive. The album ends with an alternative version of "Massive Star At the End of Its Burning Cycle". The original track has been processed and manipulated quite extensively with sudden dynamic changes.

As with the first volume, there are some funny remixes and some interesting heavy electronic treatments throughout. This one isn't any better than the last one, and pretty much is one that will be fun for the fans. However, I think that it would appeal to lovers of heavily treated and manipulated music, so, like the first volume, it gets 3 stars.

This album has some interesting recordings that are not available elsewhere. It starts out with 'Assault on Precinct 65' which is a remix of John Carpenter's soundtrack music from the 1976 film of the same name. The music is electronic and it recreates the music from the film with some nice effects. It starts out quite symphonic but reverts to more electronic effects and sound snippets from the movie. Very nice remix.

'I am Robot' is more of an original track with electronics and guitars mixed. The percussion is pretty much handled by electronics. There are samples from Sage Francis' 'Mullet' mixed through the track. It has a hip hop vibe, but with hints of post rock in the guitars. It utilizes dynamics quite well and is a surprisingly good track.

''' is a short track with samples from 'Deftones' and 't.A.T.u.'. It is a very heavy mash-up interrupted by some funny comments by Avril Lavigne about music.

'Face of the Earth (Clinging On To)' is a remix of the same song from 'The Dismemberment Plan'. It places a fairly poppy song in front of some heavy beats and static and includes some of the vocals from the song with other vocals layered underneath and on top of each other.

'Born Apart' is a great mash-up of Joy Divisions 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and Underworld's 'Born Slippy'. The music is very processed and mixed over heavy beats. Some great effects are done with the original vocals.

'Everything We Talked About Yesterday' finally settles in to a 6+ minute track of original electronic music and post rock guitars. This is the type of music the band would become famous for and, even though it is a little rough in the mix which can make things seem too chaotic at times, it is still a refreshing take on post rock. It actually sounds almost like a remix of one of their own tracks, but I'm not sure about that.

'Default This' is another very short original track. It is a conglomeration of beats and electronic effects.

'Twentyfourtwelve' features the band The Tingler, who I don't know much about. It starts as a nice, simple piano and has electronic effects and field recordings scattered all over. After the words 'Christmas is cancelled!' it turns to a slow guitar melody with 2 guitars and bass playing. This one is actually quite nice. Soon, electronic effects start coming in again, then fade, and then come back with a vengeance. Somehow, we end on a solo piano again. 'My Hometown' is not shown on the track list, but it is a remix of Bruce Springsteen's song of the same name. It's pretty much the original song surrounded by mostly subdued electronic sounds and effects. Later, they mess around with the track and fade out on a skipping record of Bruce singing 'In 65, In 65, In 65'.' over and over.

With nine tracks, this is only a 27 minute album, so it probably qualifies more as an EP. For being early tracks, they are well produced, but there are issues with extremely heavy mixing at certain parts that distract from everything, so there are issues. The tracks are nothing else if not interesting, but nothing really outstanding. The album is fun and entertaining, but has little to offer in the way of being progressive. But it does hint to the direction the band would take in mixing electronics with post rock guitars. I doubt if anyone be interested in this much unless you are a big fan, but for those that are, it is a fun collection.

The band was moving away from their original thick guitar-laden sound to one that utilized more synthesizer. Even though many fans dislked the new sound as it strayed away from its thick and heavy metal sound, it was proof that the band was willing to experiment with the Post Rock genre by adding in synths and electronics. It is obvious right away that the members of the band knew what they were doing, as the sound is quite mature for a band just starting to experiment with new styles. The music on this EP is all instrumental.

You immediately hear the synth/electronica feel on the title track. It uses rapid fire percussion, which could be synthesized. This one feels completely electronic until a guitar comes in for a short time later. It is quite melodic, but almost gives you a rave style feel. It becomes more chaotic towards the end as more sounds are layered in, but it is obviously driven by synthesizers.

"PACIFY" starts out minimalistic with droning tones swirling around each other. A processed piano finally provides an achor that gives a feeling of movement in the track, and percussive and other processed sounds continue. A guitar provides more texture. A rhythm finally kicks in, a persistent, thumping beat. Finally, a thick sounding guitar comes in providing memories of the bands past post-rock sounds, and it takes the foreground, but the electronics and more percussion continue underneath it in several sonic layers. This one builds in intensity until it comes to a sudden end.

"ANTIQUE HYPER MALL" starts off with experimental electronic textures and a plucked guitar. The electronics feel rather chaotic next to the contrasting slow guitar. The melody provided by the guitar gets more interesting as it continues. A sudden stop, and then the percussion takes over for a while, then synths start adding layers. Suddenly the guitar kicks in the loud metallic sound, mixing the old post rock sound with the new techno sound. The biggest surprise is when the percussion drops out at the end, that you hear a thick wall of sound, but instead of being all guitar, there are plenty of electronics there also.

"GOODBYE, 2007" starts off with a repeating chime sound and a heavy thudding base provides a foundation. A heavy, fuzzy synth builds underneath while a somewhat cheerful arpeggio continues in the foreground.

The mix of Post Rock with Electronica gives a new edge to the genre and opens up a lot of avenues for those bands in the genre to work with. The band not only adds in electronica, but they make the music danceable, approaching a 'techno-style' sound while mixing in aspects of their original genre. The tracks on the EP will definitely appeal to the fans (known as "65kids") because, other than the title track, are only widely available on this EP. It may be appealing to progressive music lovers too, since it's base is in Post Rock, but it shows the band's beginning to branch out and experiment. The music stays interesting and dynamic throughout. This EP is a good way enter into the new sound of the band to determine if it is for you or not. Of course, the shortness of the EP works towards its disadvantage as a stand alone release, it is more effective as a companion to go along with the album released shortly after. In any case, it is a solid 3 star EP, lacking only because it has the short duration of 18 minutes.

Post-rock is an experimental genre that constatly look forward for innovation and new sounds. Well, this album is a kind of traditional post-rock album mixed with some hard electronic, drum & bass and even techo dance sections which sometimes enriches the musical textures we find on the 9 tracks of the album starting with the catchy opener "Mountainhead", located between the well-known hard rhythmical bases of this band and some pop beats. The second track, "Crash Tactics", is a classic "65dos-style" from the Stumble.Stop.Repeat era; a great, complex and heavy (but too short!) instrumental journey such as "Weak4".

If I got to pick another remarkable song of this album I go to "Debutante", a piece based on floating and hypnotic keyboards and soft but proggy guitar riffs. The other tracks got some poppish electronic mixtures, such as "Come With Me" with Robert "The Cure" Smith on vocals, and "Tiger Girl", a dance-electronic piece with some catchy rhythms extremely long and repetitive.

Got to say that is not an album for hard post-rock lovers but it has great and enjoyable sections, well made electronic athmospheres, and (why not?) awsome dance tracks. And maybe is the perfect piece to introduce some beginners into this genre. 3* to me?

The nadir of the album is probably The Distant and Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties, a techno tribute which feels incredibly out of place; I'd have thought it was a joke, except it lasts entirely too long for that. There's a clutch of good tracks on here but it's hard not to see it as a stumble for the band.

"Heavy Sky" sounds like party, which is fine. I'm not really the party kind of guy, but I exercise frequently and need need something upbeat to listen to, and this fits the bill while also being at least mildly progressive. The music on this EP is heavily electronic, leaving almost no discernible playing of traditional rock instruments, which I feel is a sound that this band should definitely explore in the future. All of this EP wouldn't sound out of place at a night club, but some oddly placed beats and interesting developments within the music keep me from calling this run of the mill techno.

Very accessible by today's standards, definitely, though not a masterpiece and not 100% fitting as progressive rock but more as more progressive sounding modern electronic dance music.