WEAK4

"WEAK4" is an EP from "65daysofstatic" which was released only in Japan shortly before the worldwide release of their 4th full length album "We Were Exploding Anyway". The EP features the album version of the title track "WEAK4", plus 3 more tracks not available on the LP.

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.