Bury The Sound : "Autumn Magnets" Ep (Self-Released)

Since starting this site, nearly a year ago, several young bands have been kind enough to forward some of their material to me for review purposes. There is nothing more exciting than recieving a CD in the post from an undiscovered band. It is a joy to research these bands and I am pleased to say that, more often than not, the music tends to be of high quality. You may remember the Romance of Young Tigers review from December, I still take great pleasure in recommending that wonderful, but genrally undiscovered band, to anybody who will listen.

Melbourne quartet, Bury The Sound, are another band currently on the lookout for a new label and judging by their 3-track Ep, "Autumn Magnets", they won't be waiting too long. Operating in the stratosphere somewhere between early Mogwai and the unpredictable space rock genre, "Autumn Magnets" provides some wonderfully dynamic slabs of instrumental rock. Rich guitar melodies mesh with thundering bass work, while keyboard washes provide a nice psychedelic element throughout. It is all held together by some interesting percussion that recalls the more complex nature of a few post-rock artists.

Although there is nothing particlarly ground-breaking about Bury The Sound's music, it shouldn't matter. Especially when tracks like the powerful opener "What Would One Become" rock harder than Lemmy, Ozzy and Jimmy Page together on a 72-hour Jack Daniels bender. The guitar work here is so thick with melody that it almost floods through your speakers. Using an array of effects, guitarist Tim Clarke has developed a vibrant style. The creamy guitar notes around the 4 minute mark, for example, is testament to this. Building purposefully, with some nice Mogwai style guitar interplay, this track erupts skyward with a massive wall of spacey distortion.

Guitar notes intertwine with some psychedlic synths to open next track "Saratoga", with each note deliberately and delicately urging the band forward. However, rather than go for the predicatable post-rock explosion/crescendo route, the band instead opt to let the track drift out with a space-rock jam that features a gorgeous bass melody that recalls "Ten Rapid"-era Mogwai.

Rounding things off with the Floyd-tinged stylings of "Gemini Unbound", dreamy, reverbed guitars can be heard in the distance while a subdued piano line takes the lead. Once the listener is lulled into a false sense of security, the full band kick into action, proving that Bury The Sound are as tight a unit as they come. The instrumentation, particularly towards the end during those rockier moments, is executed expertly.

All in all, it is impressive stuff from the Australians, encompassing a myriad of their influences, but over the course of the 25 minutes they manage to stamp their own authority over the sound. Their expansive guitar-driven soundscapes shows some real potential, so here's hoping a few record labels sit up and take notice.

Rating - 73%