Australia may not be the first place one thinks of when pondering the mysteries of post-rock; spiders, sharks and swimming knives, yes, but ambient-fueled metal, not so much. Despite this, however, Sydney’s Meniscus have truly been making waves on the Australasian music scene with their own brand of instrumental music. Absence of I, the band’s first and only release to date, provides listeners with a glorious display of technicality, refinement and progressive musical ideas in the form of one neat, tidy, four-track EP.
The record begins with ‘Cusp’, a track fused through the alchemical bonding of ambient soundscapes, bass chugs, piano interludes and bongos. Yep, bongos. Beginning with soaring keyboards, this track builds to a fine crescendo of distorted guitars, high-neck chords and drop-D bass. Throw in a guitar solo rich in Wah, and ‘Cusp’ becomes, as an opener, near-perfect.
We then move on to ‘Pilot’ which, with its accessible use of time signatures and catchy riffs, may well be the nearest this record might come to garnering a single. The tabla plays a large role in this track’s intro, coming in right from the start to accompany guitar chords infused with chorus, echo, and bass heavy enough to melt a bear. Taking its time to gain pace, Pilot soon becomes an explosion of beautifully distorted noise reminiscent of Jakob’s ‘The Collar Sets Well’ or Irepress’ ‘Diaspora’.
The EP’s closing tracks, ‘Mother’ and ‘Idiot Savant/Far’ might be seen to fall into the classic post-rock category, with each one being ten and twenty-two minutes in length, respectively. Taking inspiration from Aboriginal and Middle-Eastern folk, as well as contemporary alternative, it is clear, through listening to these tracks, that the band were able to experiment ever further with ambience and technical, progressive instrumentation, taking their time to build each one, meticulously constructing an atmosphere worthy of the term, ‘epic’.
For a debut release, Absence of I is surprising, in that it is clear that Meniscus are already so comfortable in their own unique, refined sound, it’s a wonder they haven’t released more material to date. With the technical skill and dynamism showcased over the course of this record, we cannot help but wish for more. It is clear that this band is one that will continue to prosper and further develop their unique brand of instrumental rock into something ever more beautiful and engaging.
Release: 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Genre: Post-rock / Instrumental / Progressive-metal
Samuel Horton - Samuel Horton is graduate with a degree in Cultural Studies, Communications & Media based in Nottingham, England. Amongst other things, ...
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