Old Raves End is a slow burning dubstep gem
· bychrison March 31 2011 12:03:42
Take two producers with a firm background in post rock, electronica, ambient and shoegaze and one more with a deep understanding of drum and bass and dubstep and what do you get.... Swarms. Sam, Pete and Tom have released 2 quality EPs to date and have been championed by the likes of Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs amongst others.
Their debut single 'I gave you everything' had 90,000 youtube hits in a little over a year. Originally from Malvern they are now based in Bristol. Their second self-titled EP was released through the Bristol label Subdepth before signing to Lo Dubs for their debut album 'Old Raves End'. Where their EPs where maybe more beat-driven their sound has subtly morphed into something more rhythmically complex but ultimately more beautiful and rewarding.
From the opening track 'T-1000' it's all about atmosphere where a slow dubstep beat is washed over by an ambient background and a stunning female vocal sample. 'Chapel' is even more uplifting and heartfelt. Emotive for sure! 'Flikr of ur eyes' incorporates the use of a guitar before the track cleverly builds. 'Roulette' is what Burial might have come up with if he was into producing the ambient side of dubstep. The violin adds a certain depth too. 'Hostile' is more electronic in it's approach, there's still pleny of atmosphere but the beats are more prominent. 'Polar' is simply executed but very effective and 'Sky below sea' is gorgeous with it's piano and guitar adding an organic touch.
With not one bad track on the album Swarms show a side of dubstep that is impossible not to warm to. With a multitude of dubstep producers going for the wobble bass sound which just doesn't work for me this is like a breath of fresh air. This shows us there's still plenty of directions for dubstep producers to explore. Whilst veering into the ambient sound spectrum this is still deeply rooted in the dubstep sound and this is what makes it so appealing. Swarms have creating a meticulously crafted album which needs time to fill the space in your head. Once absorbed it's quite a journey. And one we'll be coming back to again and again...
Album rating 9.6/10
Check out the links below to investigate Swarms further.
Swarms on Bandcamp
Swarms on Soundcloud
Swarms on Myspace
Swarms on Facebook
Swarms on Youtube
· chris on March 31 2011·
1365 Reads
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