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Everything Is Made In China. Except perhaps this. You see, EIMIC is actually a Russian band. They are three lads from Moscow who make post-rock influenced by OK Computer-era Radiohead, with perhaps a bit of Lights Out Asia (and, perhaps, The Outfield) thrown in. And they record for their music in Toronto, Canada, then release it themselves, thereby bypassing China entirely.
How odd is that? It’s all part of the Russian-Canadian conspiracy, i tell you! The two largest countries by land area are ganging up on the rest of us…
Well, not really. This is not very offensive or threatening music at all. EIMIC make guitar heavy post-rock that ebbs and flows in slow waves, with lots of tinkling guitars. Vocalist Max Fedorov has a slightly whiny voice, and he sings in English. His accent is not that noticeable, but the overall effect reminds me a lot of Thom Yorke. Not that this is a bad thing, but believe it or not some people find that voice irritating. So, if you are one of those people, be forewarned.
There is almost an hour of music here in 10 songs, which is a bit much to go through, so let me hit the high points.
The peak of the record is The City of Airstrip One which, aside from the clever Orwell reference, features Fedorov chugging away on his guitar under a mountain of echo, while keyboardist Phil Premyak lays down a nice drone and drummer Alex Zotov keeps up a breakneck pace. The drumming is really nice here, it seems to be barely restrained by the drone and the echo, like it wants to explode in a flurry of heavy metal thumping. It adds a nice tension, making for a really great tune.
Universe For Sale is a wonderful tune, but kind of a-typical for the album. Zotov plays a jazzy riff while Premyak's keys take the lead, plinking away wonderfully. Fedorov sings lightly here, more Sigur Ros than Radiohead, and the song moves at an unhurried pace. It really works though.
On Automatic, EIMIC create a vast sound. The guitar, the voice, and the keyboards are all echoed to infinity and back, and the drums are a faint tinkling in the background. This sounds a lot like what Project Skyward are doing, although EIMIC manage to make the song ebb and flow with layers of tension as the drums slowly build in intensity. Really nice.
There are a lot of brilliant moments just like those scattered about the remaining seven tracks, There are no songs on this record that i dislike, but those three definitely stand out from the crowd. In general, i have to admit that i like what EIMIC are doing.
Russian / Canadian music. Who knew it was so good?
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