I stumbled upon this band and want to share it with you. No Post-Rock or Post-Metal fan should miss out on this.”
If you are lucky enough to be a writer at Veil of Sound (and we are still looking for nerds like us to join or motley crew) you get access to a lot of free promos, both in our mail inbox and in promo archives. But Bandcamp is also a treasure trove. One day I logged in to Bandcamp to see what was happening. I stumbled upon a Swedish band I had never heard of - Sire from Örebro. I was completely taken by surprise by this impressive album and I wonder why it is not more talked about. The band manages to balance the music between the clear,invisible brightness of Post-Rock and the dense heaviness found in the most ponderous Post-Metal. Their sonic take on the genre-mix is unique as the drums mostly lead and the other instruments revolve around the drum set. Utterly intriguing.
You notice this immediately in the opening of the first song ”Koyot” (‘Coyote’): An expansive soothing synth spreads out to open the album embracing a reflective strumming guitar and slow-paced heavy hits on the drumset´s floor-drums making a sound similar to a monumental timpani. The slightly distorted strumming repeats a translucent theme as the music flows slowly forward with the serene synth floating between the pillars of sound. There is a comfortable relaxing sense to the wonderful sonics that grows ever tighter until a release into heavier and denser parts emerges. As the guitars become denser and denser repeating the theme, the drums push for speed with fast hits on the floor drum giving a profound heaviness. They take the force while the synth soars above the massive soundscape. The guitars rise, then dive into a dense, energetic flow with the drums leading the music. The guitars alternate themes and the synth begins to swirl immersed by massive and wide heaviness. Then the musical flow changes direction and the drums shift to a staccato rhythm as the guitars glissade in between the flying drumsticks and the synth once more rises above the other instruments. The music combines tightness and translucence as the guitars shift into tremolo mode and the bass rumbles in the depth of the sonics towards the end with only the soothing wide-reaching synth left.
This is how they form the music and weld Post-Rock and Post-Metal and form powerful, clean sounds with mesmerizing effects as the second song, ”Saltsjön”, shows. It is the name of the inner harbor of Stockholm. It might be a sunny day over there as it opens with enthusiastic guitars and the relentless drum that once more will command the music above the rumbling bass. The guitars’ melodic theme is captive and holds your attention. The soundscape is completed when the synth ascends through the formidable soundscape. There is a shift with a somewhat Industrial rhythm that leads to the second part of the track. You can hear the soft bass forming a melody in the layers and in this way fill a gap you did not know existed. The guitars have a lighter note as synths make the sonics brighter and then, in one part, it is alone in a mighty organ mode soaring upwards until it fuses back together again led by the drums, melodic bass, and strumming clean high-pitched tremolo guitars yearning upward and upward providing a sense of a crescendo until the track ends with a piano tone as the other instruments fade away.
Electronic effects open ”Blodmåne” (Blood Moon) before it melts the guitars and the rhythm section. The bass is rumbling low, as low as possible; relentless drumming makes out the solid fundament that the guitars can sway and whirl on together with a bright synth. They form melodies, rise, and float, and go heavy and dense, combining them with translucent parts. The textured track constantly changes direction upon the dense fundament. It is a complex structure that streams onward effortlessly and flawlessly. The music is majestic as the bright keys and guitars form themes leaving the bass to answer with its own motif. The music swirls in high tempo with a high-pitched tremolo guitar breaking loose from the denseness right at the end.
The album closes with ”Flykten” (The Escape) and is yet another ride into the riveting sonics of Sire. It opens calmly in a laid-back beat provided by the drums and prolonged chords from the guitars. Then the bass begins to play a brisker musical theme at the bottom contradicting the other instruments while a gleaming synth floats above the heavy music. There is a shift in the flow as the guitars change direction with faster tremolo and the rhythm section becomes harder and heavier. The chords from the guitars are slightly dissonant to great effect. The music surges with vaguely fuzzy guitars, longing for the end of the escape. There is an abrupt halt and then it slows down with just an acoustic guitar accompanied by bright synths until a distorted guitar chord ends the album.
Between 2018 and now, the band has four releases. So, head over to Bandcamp - you will not be disappointed.
