Dead Sea Apes - High Evolutionary [2014]
 

Dead Sea Apes - High Evolutionary [Inst. Psychedelic / Exp. Post-Rock]
PURCHASE: High Evolutionary | Dead Sea Apes

NYNE / TENNNN



Been waiting a while for this one, repeatedly teased by mysterious YouTube trailers and postponed release dates. Digital release kept me waiting an extra week past the vinyl / CD release, built the hype up even more, and finally popped up on Bandcamp just in time for my Saturday morning dive into the mountain woods, an ideal environment for what I knew would be an elaborately layered dosage of warm psychedelic instrumentals, and that it was. High Evolutionary's arrival was coincidentally very well timed for me, after recently falling in love with Memnon Sa's similarly styled debut album Citadel, which turned out to be one of the most enjoyable instrumental post-rock-ish albums I've ever heard. I'm almost certain the two albums have no connection, but they stand beside each other like brothers, equally as passionate, equally as ambitious, and unknowingly cooperating to expertly demonstrate the stunningly beautiful possibilities of this sort of approach to instrumental rock.

High Evolutionary unfolds like a 45 minute barrage of spiralling tendrils of sound layered atop a thick foundation of humid desert rock. The album follows a familiar story arc, gradually rising and falling in intensity toward a massive climax, Regolith, and then gliding downward into a comfortable bed of psychedelic, droning, wobbly textures, carrying the album into a passionately euphoric finale with Wolf II, easily one of the most beautiful tracks I've heard this year, easily my favourite from this release. This is another album that ought to be listened to alone, with headphones in, on a walk, or laying in bed with the lights off, allowing your mind to roam free among the album's vivid organic imagery. Each track demonstrates trained talent from each individual member of the trio and as a cohesive unit. Dead Sea Apes know their skill set well and seem to feed off of each other's movement, sonic walls produced by one member ricocheting off of the others, the music is always breathing, always mutating, each instrument dancing in sync with the others.

I've been saying it over and over again and I can't stop, I'm continually reassured week after week that 2014 has been a massive year for experimental music. I plan on taking this album, among many others released in the past 11 months, far into the future with me. A remarkable release, beautiful from start to finish, if you give this album your full attention, a dedicated listen, you'll find yourself completely immersed in an intricate and passionate soundscape.

Essential for fans of Barn Owl, Grails, and Memnon Sa.

I've been really liking this band since seeing you post about them

I love Barn Owl a lot.

That song was really neat! Now I need to go give the entire album a listen, this sounds well worth it.