Volume isn't everything. Louder does not necessarily equal better. However, The Falling Spikes and Tears of Ishtar are both bands who need to be heard at an appropriate volume, and who understand the importance of increased decibels in achieving a certain effect. It's an integral part of their sound.
The Falling Spikes build a dense shimmering wall of psychedelic noise, brimming with shuddering tremolo-treated shoegaze guitars, synth drones and shuffling, laid-back percussion to hypnotic effect. They're not ones to chat with the audience, playing the songs back to back to build and maintain the atmosphere. The vocals are drenched in layers of reverb and delay and half buried in the mix, and singer / guitarist Alex is positioned toward the back of the smoke-fogged stage, to the left of the drummer. Front and centre stage is instead occupied by a brace of tambourine shakers. The instruments all merge for form a blurred, fuzz-filled sonic haze. It's a groove sensation, alright.
The mic stands are removed from the stage for Tears of Ishtar. No vocals. No bantering with the crowd. Just some guys and some serious amplification. Simple. Such simplicity, though, belies the technical complexity of their highly detailed and tightly structured movements (they're not 'songs', and 'tunes' is far too gentle a word). It's heavy duty stuff, and while a prog-informed interpretation of post-rock at its core, Tears of Ishtar bring the weight and density of metal to the stage and then bludgeon it, hard. Consequently, delicate, haunting and intricate interweaving guitar lines float and soar above punishingly heavy basslines and megalithic powerchords. It's all performed with remarkable precision, too, and Tears of Ishtar have the quality of music and musicianship to place them in the same league as the likes of Pelican and Isis. Jaw-dropping.
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Tears of Ishtar on MySpace
The Falling Spikes Online
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