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Tuesday, January 30, 2024

le_mol and the cinematic ticking post rock time bomb of "damn you! grown up world" (Official Video)

 

"you wake up / you brush your teeth / you fold your sheets / you eat something healthy..."


The formidable avant post rock zoetrope of "damn you! grown up world" by the Vienna, Austria self defined two man loop orchestra le_mol might look like a man riding on a furiously galloping horse only to slowly shape shift into some kind of demon running against an onslaught of defenders soon to be slaughtered (or something like that). You may see something else against the sonic light and shadows that this song provides. 

After, a polite ai voice, percussive electronica that might sound like insect sounds or alien crackles becomes part of an otherworldly engine. A running sea for potent beats and sonic illumination with massive piano keys, heavy guitar shapes and downbeats that dart out ahead of the cadence. I love the heaviness that springs forth, the sound is cinematic, is operatic, is doom and gloom, is retribution, is birth and death and birth. 

These Liner Notes will shed some light (color coded):


(le_mol) made the loopstation their primary songwriting tool and meanders somewherebetween Ambient soundscapes and Noisy Post-Rock. For the fourth record “White Noise Everywhere” (releases 24 April, 2020), the master recipe remains basically the same: Meticulously compiled and ever-changing guitarmelodies combined with elaborated synthesizersounds by Raimund Schlager are piling up loops after loops into immense soundwalls and, directed by Sebastian Götzendorfers drumming, create an enthralling musical atmosphere.

By making loops means to their end, the songs on “White Noise Everywhere” are slowly picking up pace and offer broad reflective, meditative spaces for listeners, only to be interrupted by noisy peaks. The contrast between these eruptive turning points and extensive ambient passages is, what's defining the LP with a runtime of 33 minutes. On the album this is reflected as an assemblage of three calm and soothing interludes and four well-wrought songs, that are themselves riddled with ups and downs. This is where le_mol's hidden message behind “White Noise Everywhere” becomes apparent: A constant overflow of information, entertainment, screens and sounds is crowding in on us, wether we want it or not. Even if we try, slowing down our lives can be hard and often only happens unexpected, e.g. due to tragic events like the end of an important relationship or, even worse, a death of someone beloved. Like a loud bang through the static, these moments bring us back to ourselves and open our eyes.

With their fourth record, le_mol are raising further questions: How can we steer our psyche savely and sanely through this minefield of attention economics, consisting of news, entertainment and other distractions without losing sight of what’s really essential? How can we distinguish between trivia and essencials? Of course, these questions remain unanswered by the instrumental group despite the first emergence of vocals (by none other than Hans Platzgumer on “Hands”) ever to appear on a le_mol record. The questioning rather become evidence of a postmodern fatigue which affects the society as a whole. 

I look forward to delving more into “White Noise Everywhere” and hope to see how le_mol looks live. How exciting. 






le_mol, alt rock, indie rock, post rock, space rock, avant rock, art rock, loop orchestra from Vienna, "damn you! grown up world", new album “White Noise Everywhere”,


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