Disappears - Old Friend / Magics - self released

Disappears sent me their latest a while ago and sticking with their unmistakable bold graphic style on the sleeve, they have two new tracks on this single 'Old Friend' and 'Magics' this time going with magenta, the 7" pictured on the upper left.

I'm happily revisiting these guys previous single as well...it's all coming together on a full length I've been reading about them recording...maybe previewing some of this material at SXSW.

The A-side 'Old Friend' gets a groove going right away, in that Dead Meadow vein, really strong bassline driving the rhythm...it's working with the heavy reverb/echo on distorted guitar, kind of mixed down to be that great complex haze, impossible to separate. It sounds like it should be blown out, just pushing the levels into the red, but it never does. Relentless drumming from Graeme sounds like an exercise in endurance... at points is exactly in time with the reverb...creating another sound completely...really incredible.
They have mastered that JAMC layering that's subtly propelling everything. It's like this wave machine of reverb.
Brian Case, on vocals, has this exactly on time rhythm I really appreciate....it's kind of following it's own structure that works. It's in between yelling and lyric bursts in it's own time delivery. By the end it's sounding dangerous the echo is turned all the way up...it's an intense two minutes. I can't believe it's over every time.

The B-side 'Magics' gets more psyche-y on you...a big pile of reverb right from the beginning, slowing it down a bit this side. I love the washed out melody they develop in every song, the way they stick to that repetition, building the structure and just changing it so slightly. They know a good thing when they hear it.
Graeme adds these perfect tom hits right in between the changes that's one of those perfect little touches I'm only now catching onto after a bunch of listens... the restraint, or oversight you have to have to just use that effect so minimally.
They constantly straddle that line where their heavy reverb guitar strumming is just about to screech into feedback but then mutes out at the last second. They have a really disciplined handle on the effect near chaos. Seriously getting into this....by now they have a really strong EP's worth of material and I'm waiting for the full length.

Someone let me know how they are at SXSW. This can only get better live.

Give them a listen at their myspace.

I think I missed out on their limited CD-R of live stuff, so I'm going to have to check their blog more often also.

How to get one:....
(tell them 7inches (everyday) sent you.)

HOW TO ORDER A 7"

If anyone would like to order a 7" from us please paypal the correct amount to: brianedwardcase(at)yahoo.com
here's what you'll need:
usa - $6.50 canada/mexico - $7.00 uk/europe - $10.00

Dis>>appears<< 2008

Brian from Disappears sent this single in for review a few weeks ago and I'm putting it on after some much needed Memorial day debauchery....a few minutes later after checking out their myspace and their blog I was impressed to see they're joining Deerhunter and Times New Viking for a bunch of November dates...

Right away I'm just getting a handle on the halting, one word at a time vocals and kind of big dreamy reverb guitar heavy goings on with the A-Side track 'Needs'. It's the kind of sound that keeps building with various percussion elements and the guitar melody that has to be backed vocally to get this uber chorus sound. I swear I'm hearing voices behind the main guitar line.
The single note blistering solo towards the end starts doubling back on itself teetering on 13th floor elevators psychadelic. My vinyl copy is sounding a little overmodulated, but it's only contributing to this underwater sweeping sound. The reverb rushes around like it's practically phased.
I love the manipulation of those sounds that take serious experimentation to get just right...where it becomes about a tone and a physicality to the music...to the playing itself... not even the melody. It's just enough out of control to worry about it coming apart completely.
Just as soon as I'm forward thinking about the Vivian Girls, I'm back to The Jesus and Mary Chain. What was it about that sound? The vocals mixed in the back...not pushing the lyric kind of makes for that slightly menacing feel. It's also this understated nicely-lost-in-the-mix and washes of echo that's really settling it for me.
It's taking all that, building into psyche areas that are far from jam background sound. Its distilled down into 3 minutes of pure huge unclimbable wall.

Side Two 'Hearing things' is more of a pummeling attack... but still from the back of the reverb cave, like the A-side. The vocals are are still unemotional but breathy, mixing even more in the wash...almost a practical swish sound behind everything.
The bass here really comes through on vinyl, the layers of guitar all pile together almost maxing out the midrange completely and then the bassline peeks over the wall of cymbal crashes for a few moments... by the end the drumming overcomes the frantic harmonic-like guitar that's been all background strummed in triple time and echoed.... it's really getting into psyche territory here, like a high speed wooden shjips but more satisfying... more of a classic edge even...Well, lets just say a lot more energetic, there's no question about being lulled by that overwhelming sound. It's not trying to put you to sleep as much as it's trying to push you over.

Still available directly from the band.....

If anyone would like to order a 7" from us please paypal the correct amount to:

brianedwardcase (at) yahoo.com

here's what you'll need:

usa - $6.50

canada/mexico - $7.00

uk/europe - $10.00