LONG DISTANCE CALLING - Avoid The Light
With an average song length of nine minutes, German instrumental band Long Distance Calling makes it clear from the outset that they are definitely not a run-of-the-mill rock band. Their label likes to wield terms like “post rock” and “new art rock”, which somehow makes sense but is hardly enough to describe the quintet’s music.
Their second album Avoid The Light start with the twelve minute long Apparitions, a prime example of a non-linear composition that starts out slow enough, becoming gradually louder, relapsing into a quiet interlude before exploding into a welcome noise crescendo. Combining Mogwai styled post rock with contemporary post metal schemes, and finding even the time to add psychedelic electronics reminding of Pink Floyd, this is a strong start into a promising record. The two following songs repeat the pattern in slightly shorter songs, not able to maintain the high level of the opener, before we are treated with two further great songs. I Know You, Stanley Milgram! is another highly dynamic ten minute epic instrumental. The Nearing Grave surprises with guest vocals by Jonas Renkse from Katatonia, not only showing the band’s proximity to the metal genre (on their debut, The Haunted’s Peter Dolving sang on one track), but also proving that they work just as well with a singer. The album closes with Sundown Highway, leaving the listener with a fairly good impression of their talents.
Sporting three great songs and three good but not outstanding tracks, Avoid The Light can still claim to be a successful album, also thanks to the powerful and transparent production by Blackmail’s Kurt Ebelhäuser. Too loud for post rockers, too mellow for the metal faction, too arty maybe for other people’s tastes, the Münster based band may have a hard time finding their target audience, but that doesn’t prevent Avoid The Light from being an appealing record.