Showing posts with label Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Show all posts

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Umi: Dynamic instrumental rock band from Minnesota

So ever since seeing this local instrumental rock band open for The Reign of Kindo (Jason Richardson) on Sunday, and picking up the Flash Drive they had available with all 3 of the releases they have that are on their bandcamp page which are embedded below (the 2nd one, Tiny, Little Light which is free to download by the way).

I have been checking these studio recordings the last few days, and have in some ways been blown away.

The use of dynamics and intricate instrumentation and production is very clear.

Their music is bright, energetic, epic, and even somewhat diverse. Sometimes slow, sometimes moody, other times technical. The contrast and interplay of the guitars and drums really works well. And the piano, which I suppose may be 1 of the biggest things that makes them stand out from many of the instrumental rock bands out there.

There's at least 1 or 2 bands I'm still not remembering who they reminded me of, with their use of piano with post-rock/jazz etc. But I guess just to make a couple of comparisons.

1 being the early Tangled Thoughts of Leaving aka the Tiny Fragments EP especially. The subtle at times, yet goose-bump worth piano melodies that create such wonderful mood and atmosphere is present.

The other I want to say some of the earlier God is an Astronaut, I recall having some similar kinds of moments to the music from Umi.

But also someone like Pat Metheny of course (or more recently, The Super Pilots/Mike Linden), largely per the happy and bright tone, and even jazzy element.

I need to work my way through their stuff more to fully grasp how great this band is, but at a minimum, I think they are the both the best new band from Minnesota I've discovered since at least Words for Penga in 2015? and also maybe more so, the best instrumental/post band I a may attach myself to since Nordic Giants back in 2014.

I wonder if they could catch on the way I wondered about Brice Plays Drums or Lehto and Wright. Their music is both THAT GOOD and also it seems THAT ACCESSIBLE.

But, I also feel/felt the same way about the great Minnesota local band NOMIA. But...no dice really. If they remain a local treasure in MN, I can't really complain. But their music does seem appealing enough many may be sleeping on it.

oh, 1 other band who I wonder if they know or could play a show with: Put Down the Muffin. Instrumental proggy jazz from Minnesota would seem a group whose audience could enjoy.

https://www.facebook.com/UmiMinnesota/


World of Color [EP]
 rel August 27, 2017


1. Droplet 04:30
2. In The Fog 05:58
3. World of Color 03:08
4. Ruin 06:00
5. Voyage 05:49


Tiny, Little Light [EP]
rel May 16, 2016

1. Warmth 01:57
2. After Warmth (ft. Jakub Żytecki) 05:02
3. Violet (ft. Plini) 06:47
4. Sunshine 09:55



Umi
rel August 24, 2015

1. Umi 06:32
2. Broken Ice 03:01
3. Oshun 04:15
4. Ika-Roa 02:16
5. Colorless (feat. Jared Waln) 04:46
6. Glass Fish (feat. Dustin Korth of By The Thousands) 06:05
7. Big Wave 03:04
8. Leaf Boat 04:30
9. Flow 03:35
10. Islet 02:16
11. Torrential 05:58

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Yield to Despair (2014-2015)

New record coming out in April. Crowd Funding, etc.

The trailer, to be honest, resembles much of the style of their EP from last season, Downbeat, which honestly, I only found a few moments I enjoyed.

I definitely still enjoy their other records, so I naturally am still interested in checking this out. But stylistically, if it's like the Noisey/Droney/Doomy/Free-Jazz style of Downbeat, it may not be as much for me as even the previous EP Failed By Man and Machine and of course the excellent debut LP Deaden the Fields and their debut EP Tiny Fragments.

But I am still supporting these guys, I just am holding off on the Vinyl for now.

http://www.pozible.com/project/190778




Yield to Despair
Pre-order it now through Pozible.
Our second album is finally done - recorded, mixed and mastered!

It's called 'Yield to Despair', and it will be out in April. It has 5 tracks and is 70 minutes long. As you can tell from the title... it's a pretty dark and intense affair. Our heaviest yet - although, as with all TToL releases, it's not all that way!

We will release it on 2xLP (first run will be limited to 150 black and 150 'bone' coloured vinyl), CD and digital. The vinyl and CD both come in a beautiful gatefold case, with artwork by Teo Treloar.

To afford to press this ourselves and still pay for our upcoming tours (with 65daysofstatic in Australia in March, then our own tour to Europe in May), we need your help! We're going to run a pre-order style crowd funding campaign through Pozible. If you're keen, you can pre-order the album on your preferred format (all the prices include postage!) and there is also a bunch of cool rewards on offer:
A private show with less than 20 people at Studio Sleepwalker's Dread, where we write and record all our material. 
Signed drum-skins that were used in the recording of the album.
The last remaining CD copies of the 2009 split with our buddies sleepmakeswaves
A bonus ambient-noise EP that we are recording right now, especially for this pre-order!

Check out the Pozible page with all the pre-order options here: http://pozi.be/ttol

We also recorded a short video clip for this campaign, featuring audio from the tracks 'Yield to Despair' and 'The Albanian Sleepover - Part One'. You can check it out below (if it doesn't show up, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6lR-a0pwiw or check it out at the Pozible link above):



If you decide to chip in and pre-order, we send our most sincere thank you! It's thanks to you guys - the people who are still passionate enough to pay for music and go and see bands perform live - that we are able to do this at all.

Many thanks!
TToL.


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Put Down the Muffin - Charged Particles (2014)

I think I posted something earlier this year or late in 2013 when they launched their Kickstarter campaign, which ended up being successful obviously since this album was just printed and I received a copy in the mail just a day ago.

Put Down the Muffin I 1st heard on KBEM radio in Minneapolis, one afternoon driving home from work like in 2007 or 2008. They were playing live, being interviewed, and promoting a concert they had coming up etc. I remember the DJ asked them about progressive rock and who their favorite band was and one of the members says "well I could lie and say something like Soft Machine, haha, but I'll admit, it's Rush."

Anyway, they kind of disappeared after that point, and I meant to see them live and never was able to. That is why seeing their return of sorts recently online and then this album was kind of a big deal to me.

I have now listened to it twice and I can say I am certainly enjoying a lot of it. Stylistically, they are a jazz fusion group of a kind, but on this record, they go into some other genres to a point as well. I suppose 1 band I was reminded of at times was Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Their use of keys and synths as not only for atmosphere, but actually a lead melody of a kind.

There are not really vocals exactly, but on 1 or 2 tracks there are what sounds like vocal lines, played backwards. "Limbic Fever" which I probably would say is my favorite track overall. The synth melody is kind of dreamy and ethereal, almost like Minus the Bear or something.

To mention some others: Aqua McGreen, Bed Foil, Arab Baker, Einstein Was Wrong and Mr.Potts all stood out in different ways. The 1st part of this album does resemble some classic Jazz Rock like Return to Forever or Weather Report. But as it goes on, it seems they do show the variety of styles they include.

I suppose you could call these kind of a hodgepodge of mostly instrumental Jazz-Rock incorporating Post-Rock, soundtrack-like textures and emphasizing synths and piano at times. Now, they still do use guitar quite a bit, even on some tracks as an equally lead instrument. But it does sound like they may use more than 1 keyboard or synth texture as there is a variety on this album. At times it almost resembles like Circus music or something.

I do also dig the way they use samples (something I totally love when used well).

One of the better local and instrumental records from 2014 certainly, and a record I look to spend more time with certainly the rest of this year/season.

This album doesn't appear to be available yet unless you backed their Kickstarter. But given they have a Bandcamp page

http://putdownthemuffin.bandcamp.com/

I wouldn't be surprised to see it up for sale there soon among other spots (Amazon, CDBaby, etc).

Put Down the Muffin on Facebook


Photo: Hot off the presses!

1 Mr. Potts  5:23
2 Nightline News  4:02
3 Aqua McGreen  4:34
4 Hüba Güba  7:25
5 Claire the Loon 3:04
6 Oo˩          5:52
7 Bed Foil  4:10
8 Limbic Fever  6:30
9 Einstein Was Wrong 3:54
10 Temporary Fix 1:07
11 Arab Baker 3:54
12 Ten Miles to Waconia 5:48

Monday, March 4, 2013

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Failed by Man and Machine [EP]

3/4/13 12:00PM

The whole thing can be streamed now:



2/21/13 2:10PM
http://music.tangledthoughtsofleaving.com/album/failed-by-man-and-machine

Failed by Man and Machine cover art

1.Dance Before You Die 02:41   
2.(quakes) 05:24
3.Failed by Man
4.(tremors)
5.Failed by Machine 

2/14/13 12:01PM


http://www.facebook.com/TangledThoughtsOfLeaving/posts/430130410399143

For those of you who missed Monday's announcement, here it is. New EP. 5 tracks of completely new material. Joining us on the night will be Solkyri (NSW) and Antelope. Expect to hear some sounds from it very soon. Nice!
 
I was pretty impressed but ultimately, not addicted to their full-length debut from 2011 Deaden the Fields. Mainly per the cymbals clipping on a chunk of it. But writing-wise, it didn't disappoint. This band have a very unique approach to post/prog whatever. With emphasis on jazz and at times heavy and unexpected things/parts.
As it says there, it's a 5-track EP, about 18 minutes I thought I read on another Facebook post, coming on March 2nd (release show).
 

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Deaden the Fields (2011) (2.0)

7/7/11 11:40AM
go here to stream the whole thing

Stunning record. Hopefully more details will come soon enough.

7/6/11 12:37AM
Throw Us to the Wind by TToL

another new song "Throw Us to the Wind" ..man, sohhh good. I'd be shocked if this album isn't at least 4-stars and in my top 20 at worst. My copy should arrive within a few weeks. July 8th however, is on Friday. An mp3 zip folder download link should be hitting my inbox that day I believe.

6/19/11 1:31PM

Pre-Order link. Comes with a download of the title track as well.

also it appears it's being released on July 8th.

6/13/11 8:47AM


1. Landmarks [17:20]
2. Throw Us to the Wind [8:40]
3. ...And Sever Us From the Present [4:15]
4. Deep Rivers Run Quiet [11:12]
5. Deaden the Fields [6:12]
6. They Found My Skull in the Nest of a Bird [14:17]

their facebook post.

kind of proggy, hehe.

5/30/11 11:43AM

Facebook announcement

Drop Date is July 15th. Damn, Mid July is looking pretty busy with fellow Aussie post-rockers Meniscus; Fair to Midland, House of Fools, The Gloomcatcher, The Great Confinement and Neverending White Lights among other new releases.


5/6/11 2:03PM

Yes, I am counting the minutes until I arrive home to finally hear this thing.

New single " Deep Rivers Run Quiet"
Deep Rivers Run Quiet by TToL


4/28/11 3:45AM

Radio Show Stream from "RTR" (a radio station in Australia). Go about 2/3 in to the stream

F-U-C-K. Soh bloody good!

"I'm telling you........"


This record very easily could be the breakthrough or big splash of 2011. Or at least 1 of them. Every piece, every detail, all the hard work these guys have put in. All the time, etc. This has the formula I've seen many times of a record that stands the test of time. A DEBUT record too.

Don't be surprised if in a few years, Deaden the Fields is one of those records I and many others will think for 2011 and the early part of this decade.

The artwork is supposedly pretty close to being finished and posted online.

Also something I found interesting in that interview on that radio show, (before the track was played), these songs..or it sounds like the entire record WAS WRITTEN from JAMS the guys have done over the 7 years they've been together.

They, like Kevin Gilbert and many others, just record everything or every time they jam.

4/22/11 1:25AM
homepage news link

Album Update + Single Launch Details

The album is almost done now in terms of audio - it is off being mastered in Sweden by Pelle Henricsson. We went to Pelle because of his previous work on albums such Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come, Cult of Luna’s Somewhere Along the Highway and Poison the Well’s You Come Before You. Those are some of our favourite albums ever, so it made sense to us - given the epic dynamics on this album - to aim high and see what Pelle could do. What we have heard so far is sounding amazing - it should be wrapped up this week and sent off for pressing very shortly.

We may as well let some more album details out while we are here. Drum roll please….

The album is titled ‘Deaden the Fields’. It’s a touch under 62 minutes long. It has 6 tracks. It’ll be out in July.

In the meantime, we are releasing a single. The track is called ‘Deep Rivers Run Quiet’ and is 11 minutes long. It’s a typically epic TToL track, but quite unlike anything we have done previously. We were a little apprehensive about releasing such a long single for fear of giving too much away before the album - but it’s only the third longest song on the album!



The single launch is at Manhattans on May 13, with our friends The Silent World, Heytesburg and Cautious Horsemen. We are planning something cool for the release, but we’ll keep that under wraps for now.

More exciting news to come soon.

If you are in Perth, don’t forget about RTR FM’s In the Pines festival next weekend! We are on at 4pm, and can’t wait to play a couple of new songs.


Well as the below related link includes, I have become increasingly intrigued and excited about this record. So much so, I am a little worried it won't meet my hopes.

And with 11 minute tracks and 62 minutes, I wonder if this will be either feast or famine. As I spoke to my friend Josh (from Epic Rock Talk and That Drummer Guy Music Review Blog), I think this record could be like Long Distance Calling's Avoid the Light or even better.

Proof will be found in the pudding of course, but now knowing the title, a bit more about the songs, and it's coming in July, the bar has been or maintains its raised level.

A Top 10 contender I'd say now even, and I haven't heard a note, lol. May 13th or so, the 1st (11 minute, lol) single.

Related: Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - TBA (2011) (1.0)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - TBA (2011) (1.0)

4/7/11 11:37PM

This album is gonna rule. Everything I hear and read about it keeps upping the ante. Here's their latest teaser



2/20/11 12:58PM

a new/2nd Teaser was just posted. They've also been updating a lot of stuff about the album on their facebook page recently. So, info about this record I would imagine isn't too far away.



12/22/10 12:20PM
This Australian post-rock band I came across, I recall either sometime in 2009, or perhaps even in 2008 when they released their debut EP Tiny Fragments. I think what drew me to them most is how they use piano really well. That, and how they do have some of the "post" sound, but don't sound like the stereotypical "post" music.

So naturally, I have been wondering when something would come from them next. Last Summer I remember they even got the chance to open for Karnivool. But their 1st full-length has been in the works for awhile from reading their blogs on myspace and facebook posts.

Well they posted some stuff just today
myspace post

Hello out there.

We have loads of news, exciting times in TToL land!

First up, we have a new website: http://tangledthoughtsofleaving.com/

It has a few nice things on there, including a couple of full live sets in video. Check it out.







Secondly, we are recording our debut full length album. We built a new studio to make sure it gets done properly...


We'll be providing a whole lot more updates soon, including videos from the studio. We are very happy with the direction of the album... but we'll try not to talk it up too much just yet.

Lastly, we have a new video clip - our first ever video clip! - for 'A Vexing Predicament'. We released this song last year, but some dudes made a clip for it as part of their diploma - and it turned out reeeeal nice! So we have decided to release it officially. Have a look:



so, great to read about more info on this. They at least are 1 band who'll put out their debut record in 2011.

And for those who may be wondering, no, this is not the band whose album has a review on the verge of being reviewed on this blog. Although, TToL and that band will share a debut-album-year I suppose for that reason.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Contextually Inept (2010)

their debut full-length is coming out in a few months I guess, but they put up a free (320) download of a new song today called "Contextually Inept"



wow, pretty much the cat's ass.

go hear it.

myspace blog
download page

ftr: I still don't like the word "contextually" or "contextualize." I understand what it means, but it's like "in all actuality"..why not say "actually" or "in context" instead? lol.

but as far as TTOL, another nice "post" band from down under. The Tool/Chevelle-clones I couldn't be paid to listen to again, but along with Ne Obliviscaris (an entry about them shouldn't be too far away given my recent discovery of them and their debut lp also dropping soon), and some others, they do have a nice roster of bands from down there still (Silverchair is another).