ChaosResolved
12-25-2005, 02:42 PM
Yndi Halda
Enjoy Eternal Bliss
Release Date: 12/2005
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/yndihalda.jpg
Website: Yndi Halda (http://www.yndihalda.com)
Label: Independent (http://www.yndihalda.com)
Buy Here: Enjoy Eternal Bliss (http://www.yndihalda.com/ep.html)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/yndihalda)
Tracklist
1) Dash and Blast
2) We Flood Empty Lakes
3) Illuminate My Heart, My Darling!
~~~~~~~~~~
First picked for the ongoing Tracking the Trends (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5512) series, Yndi Halda grabbed my attention before it properly released its debut effort, Enjoy Enternal Bliss. Now I am exuberant to present them to the world, because it is clear that this band is on the path to greatness. Enjoy Eternal Bliss spans over forty five minutes of music and channels everything that the post-rock world has offered in the last five years, and then adds its own special flair to it. Epic compositions are juxtaposed with an honest songwriting approach that absolutely tugs at the heart strings in ways which cripple the listener with paralyzing emotional attacks. The maturity of the band greatly exceeds their age, as the young group of musicians show a masterful talent at their individual instruments and a overwhelming cohesion of their combined sound. I daresay that Enjoy Eternal Bliss is one of the most powerful and moving debut releases, and those who taste the forbidden fruit will never be the same.
Deriving their name from a Icelandic poem (http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/asatru/hrafnagaldr_on.html), Yndi Halda's Enjoy Eternal Bliss could be considered a self-titled album. Although the band originally formed in 2001, it wouldn't firm up its current lineup until years later. Jack Lambert, James Vella, and Daniel Lovegrove man the axes while Oliver Newton handles the drums and Daniel Neal pulls it all together on violin. James also brings in additional support on the glockenspiel when the occasion arises. Yndi Halda cites influences such as Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Mono, and Godspeed You! Black Emporer, so it's clear that they have an appreciation of those who have traveled the path before them. It's also not difficult to see how each of these bands has influenced the music of Yndi Halda, for after repeated listens of Enjoy Eternal Bliss certain elements of the aforementioned artists begin to surface out from under all of the wondrous music, but they are careful not to lean on any one influence so much as to impede upon their progress as musicians themselves. As such, these are the perfect ingredients for an awe-inspiring band who should be readily accessible to a wide pool of post-rock fans.
The first songs starts off slowly with ambient textures and then develops into a violin and drum duo which steadily unfolds into a full compositional piece with multi-layered guitar support. This sets the pace for the entirety of the EP, as the multiple guitars and violin provide layers of rich instrumentation and Oliver plays his heart out to keep everything together. Yndi Halda is a patient band. It feels no need to rush through the music, and knows that with a little perseverance, the beauty of its sound will present itself. All three of the songs breach the ten minute mark, and the average length exceeds fifteen minutes. There is a foundational similarity in Yndi Halda's work to the quiet/loud post-rock archetype, but it's not accurate to pin that label entirely on the band, for it also has a healthy linear aspect to its music that bypasses the mountainous approach so often used by Explosions in the Sky. However, on the same page, it would be a crime to call Yndi Halda's songs as anything but epic, and there is no denying the extreme cathartic buildup that is found in all of its music. In this way, the band is able to work within an already existing compositional space and present it in a new light that many other bands have overlooked in their efforts to write a cheap, epic-sounding song. Yndi Halda is not in this for a cheap thrill, but instead focus on the emotional attachment to the art itself and wish to extract that by any means necessary.
"Dash and Blast" mimics the implication provided by its name and switches from slow, lurching violin-led segments to quick paced, guitar and drum passages that see heavy use of the reverb. By the end of the song these two techniques come together to make a breathtaking finish--one that combines the energy of Sigur Ros with the sheer emotion of Explosions in the Sky as the repetitive guitar licks intertwine with the charming yelps of the strings. If one would happen to wonder what Explosions in the Sky might sound like had they adopted a wide use of the string section, Yndi Halda might not be too far from that reality. Consistent drumming mixes with spacey guitar lines and is overhauled completely by Dan on Violin. As the final bars of the song approach, Yndi Halda employ vocal harmonies to drain the last bit of energy from the song and spill it upon the listener's ears. Seventeen minutes after beginning Enjoy Eternal Bliss, the journey already feels exhausted, but this is just the beginning.
"We Flood Empty Lakes" fully expresses the beauty and utter potential of this young band. Guitars and violin glide effortlessly over smooth drum beats while building up a unsurmountable tension. The song surges through rugged momentum-building segments, offering small gulps of release from the mounting pressure before relapsing back into the fragile structure. A serene blanket covers the landscape and the sounds of a rainstorm push through, highlighting the organic embrace of this piece. The quiet nature of this rainstorm gently subsides into a glockenspiel/violin duo that leads into a thunderous explosion which brings the song full force into the "loud" arena. Guitars buzz, drums devastate, and the violin screeches relentlessly, playing out it's little sound to the bitter end. "We Flood Empty Lakes" is one of the best instrumental tracks of the year, if not the best. It's is a complex piece with a pretty simple presentation that evokes a wide spectrum of emotion through a monolithic layering of instrumentation and sounds that truly force the organic nature of the band to the forefront.
Yndi Halda pulls out no stops in the last track of the EP. "Illuminate My Heart, My Darling", recalls the fluctuating compositional methods of "Dash and Blast" and weaves through different forms of instrumentation over the course of the twenty minute song. The band goes for the gold as they slowly work up a momentous storm for the first seven minutes and release it in a "wall of sound" that swirls around the musical space and envelops the entirety of the piece. Pedal effects come out on top, as the violin is all but lost in the massive chaotic breakdown. If you listen closely enough, you can still hear the shrill screams of the violin, but it is fighting a losing battle next to the overbearing guitars. Once the storm is weathered, a haunting calm inhabits the sonic landscape. Again, this is put on an upward tilt and we slowly rise the the climatic finale of Enjoy Eternal Bliss. With an unforeseen urgency, the composition collapses into a rich, organic breakdown that drops much of the reverb and delay and sees the violin coming out on top, thrashing away as if it is aware of its own demise.
There is something untangible about Enjoy Eternal Bliss, something that evades the analytical eye but is looming over the album. Perhaps a mysticism of sorts that enchants the band's music much in the way that Sigur Ros just seems to transcend the normal limitations of music in the creation of otherworldly songs. For a band that plays and records in a barn, Yndi Halda does quite a good job of making it look easy to churn out one of the year's best albums. Enjoy Eternal Bliss is easily the year's best self-released album, and there is no doubt that this band is only going upward from here.
Enjoy Eternal Bliss
Release Date: 12/2005
http://www.decoymusic.com/images/trackingthetrends/yndihalda.jpg
Website: Yndi Halda (http://www.yndihalda.com)
Label: Independent (http://www.yndihalda.com)
Buy Here: Enjoy Eternal Bliss (http://www.yndihalda.com/ep.html)
Music: Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/yndihalda)
Tracklist
1) Dash and Blast
2) We Flood Empty Lakes
3) Illuminate My Heart, My Darling!
~~~~~~~~~~
First picked for the ongoing Tracking the Trends (http://www.decoymusic.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5512) series, Yndi Halda grabbed my attention before it properly released its debut effort, Enjoy Enternal Bliss. Now I am exuberant to present them to the world, because it is clear that this band is on the path to greatness. Enjoy Eternal Bliss spans over forty five minutes of music and channels everything that the post-rock world has offered in the last five years, and then adds its own special flair to it. Epic compositions are juxtaposed with an honest songwriting approach that absolutely tugs at the heart strings in ways which cripple the listener with paralyzing emotional attacks. The maturity of the band greatly exceeds their age, as the young group of musicians show a masterful talent at their individual instruments and a overwhelming cohesion of their combined sound. I daresay that Enjoy Eternal Bliss is one of the most powerful and moving debut releases, and those who taste the forbidden fruit will never be the same.
Deriving their name from a Icelandic poem (http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/asatru/hrafnagaldr_on.html), Yndi Halda's Enjoy Eternal Bliss could be considered a self-titled album. Although the band originally formed in 2001, it wouldn't firm up its current lineup until years later. Jack Lambert, James Vella, and Daniel Lovegrove man the axes while Oliver Newton handles the drums and Daniel Neal pulls it all together on violin. James also brings in additional support on the glockenspiel when the occasion arises. Yndi Halda cites influences such as Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Mono, and Godspeed You! Black Emporer, so it's clear that they have an appreciation of those who have traveled the path before them. It's also not difficult to see how each of these bands has influenced the music of Yndi Halda, for after repeated listens of Enjoy Eternal Bliss certain elements of the aforementioned artists begin to surface out from under all of the wondrous music, but they are careful not to lean on any one influence so much as to impede upon their progress as musicians themselves. As such, these are the perfect ingredients for an awe-inspiring band who should be readily accessible to a wide pool of post-rock fans.
The first songs starts off slowly with ambient textures and then develops into a violin and drum duo which steadily unfolds into a full compositional piece with multi-layered guitar support. This sets the pace for the entirety of the EP, as the multiple guitars and violin provide layers of rich instrumentation and Oliver plays his heart out to keep everything together. Yndi Halda is a patient band. It feels no need to rush through the music, and knows that with a little perseverance, the beauty of its sound will present itself. All three of the songs breach the ten minute mark, and the average length exceeds fifteen minutes. There is a foundational similarity in Yndi Halda's work to the quiet/loud post-rock archetype, but it's not accurate to pin that label entirely on the band, for it also has a healthy linear aspect to its music that bypasses the mountainous approach so often used by Explosions in the Sky. However, on the same page, it would be a crime to call Yndi Halda's songs as anything but epic, and there is no denying the extreme cathartic buildup that is found in all of its music. In this way, the band is able to work within an already existing compositional space and present it in a new light that many other bands have overlooked in their efforts to write a cheap, epic-sounding song. Yndi Halda is not in this for a cheap thrill, but instead focus on the emotional attachment to the art itself and wish to extract that by any means necessary.
"Dash and Blast" mimics the implication provided by its name and switches from slow, lurching violin-led segments to quick paced, guitar and drum passages that see heavy use of the reverb. By the end of the song these two techniques come together to make a breathtaking finish--one that combines the energy of Sigur Ros with the sheer emotion of Explosions in the Sky as the repetitive guitar licks intertwine with the charming yelps of the strings. If one would happen to wonder what Explosions in the Sky might sound like had they adopted a wide use of the string section, Yndi Halda might not be too far from that reality. Consistent drumming mixes with spacey guitar lines and is overhauled completely by Dan on Violin. As the final bars of the song approach, Yndi Halda employ vocal harmonies to drain the last bit of energy from the song and spill it upon the listener's ears. Seventeen minutes after beginning Enjoy Eternal Bliss, the journey already feels exhausted, but this is just the beginning.
"We Flood Empty Lakes" fully expresses the beauty and utter potential of this young band. Guitars and violin glide effortlessly over smooth drum beats while building up a unsurmountable tension. The song surges through rugged momentum-building segments, offering small gulps of release from the mounting pressure before relapsing back into the fragile structure. A serene blanket covers the landscape and the sounds of a rainstorm push through, highlighting the organic embrace of this piece. The quiet nature of this rainstorm gently subsides into a glockenspiel/violin duo that leads into a thunderous explosion which brings the song full force into the "loud" arena. Guitars buzz, drums devastate, and the violin screeches relentlessly, playing out it's little sound to the bitter end. "We Flood Empty Lakes" is one of the best instrumental tracks of the year, if not the best. It's is a complex piece with a pretty simple presentation that evokes a wide spectrum of emotion through a monolithic layering of instrumentation and sounds that truly force the organic nature of the band to the forefront.
Yndi Halda pulls out no stops in the last track of the EP. "Illuminate My Heart, My Darling", recalls the fluctuating compositional methods of "Dash and Blast" and weaves through different forms of instrumentation over the course of the twenty minute song. The band goes for the gold as they slowly work up a momentous storm for the first seven minutes and release it in a "wall of sound" that swirls around the musical space and envelops the entirety of the piece. Pedal effects come out on top, as the violin is all but lost in the massive chaotic breakdown. If you listen closely enough, you can still hear the shrill screams of the violin, but it is fighting a losing battle next to the overbearing guitars. Once the storm is weathered, a haunting calm inhabits the sonic landscape. Again, this is put on an upward tilt and we slowly rise the the climatic finale of Enjoy Eternal Bliss. With an unforeseen urgency, the composition collapses into a rich, organic breakdown that drops much of the reverb and delay and sees the violin coming out on top, thrashing away as if it is aware of its own demise.
There is something untangible about Enjoy Eternal Bliss, something that evades the analytical eye but is looming over the album. Perhaps a mysticism of sorts that enchants the band's music much in the way that Sigur Ros just seems to transcend the normal limitations of music in the creation of otherworldly songs. For a band that plays and records in a barn, Yndi Halda does quite a good job of making it look easy to churn out one of the year's best albums. Enjoy Eternal Bliss is easily the year's best self-released album, and there is no doubt that this band is only going upward from here.