The Grand Astoria / Montenegro - The Body Limits / El Matadero (2014)
This split brings together the bands
The Grand Astoria (who hail from St. Petersburg, Russia) and the
Argentinian outfit of Montenegro. And what a split! Between the two
tracks, there's more than 45 minutes of material to be heard (though
it can also be watched, via Montenegro's music video, which you'll
find below).
The Grand Astoria start things off
slowly in “The Body Limits”, with acoustic guitar being picked
carefully as woodland animals make their presence known in an ambient
environment that's gradually overwhelmed by the force of the band.
The group makes use of an interesting electric guitar method, with
the right and left channels each sporting a separate guitar input,
making for some stimulating layering of the strings. In addition to
that, there's bass, drums, samples, vocals, and electronics, all
coming together in fine form. Though the music makes plenty of
detours into experimentation, the threads of cool psychedelic rock
power hold it together as it shifts from one wiggy groove to the
next, never letting itself settle down for too long.
As hard as it would be to follow that
up, Montenegro put forth a strong showing in their track, “El
Matadero”, which translates to 'the slaughterhouse'. They go for a
heavier, more doom/blues-styled approach, though the psychedelic
influence remains a significant part of the music. After setting the
mood with some leisurely bass grooving, they add the vocals, which
create a very nice harmonization with the string tones and each
other. Most of the track is instrumental, though, with slippery
rhythms and precise drum snapping filling the song with a colorful
sense of fun.
Both bands bring a lot to the table,
and manage to pull off that most rewarding part of a split, working
well with each other's style while organically showing off their own
take on things. While the length of The Grand Astoria's song
precludes this release from popping up on vinyl, it's still worth
grabbing a copy for yourself, sitting down with it, and letting the
music have its way with your ears for the better part of an hour.
Not to be consumed while operating heavy machinery.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; From Deep
Space, Chord, Wicked Lady, Lenny White, Salem's Pot
The Grand Astoria Facebook • The Grand Astoria BandCamp • Montenegro Facebook • Montenegro SoundCloud • Montenegro Official Website • Montenegro VK • Montenegro Youtube • Montenegro BandCamp
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