Thursday 5 July 2018

Masiro - Geodesics


Labels: Self-Released
Formats: TBC
Release Date: 07 Sep 2018

Tracklist

1. Andromeda Handshake
2. K-Ursa
3. 21:15
4. Intermission: Graveyard Orbit
5. End Permain
6. Grand Trine

Here's a break from all of the chaotic, noisy hardcore and death metal I've been featuring this week so far. Masiro is an instrumental trio from Oxford. I don't think I've ever featured a band on here from Oxford. Don't worry though, they're not a middle-class high-brow instrumental band, but they enjoy bands as diverse as 65 Days Of Static and Psyopus (to name a few). They formed in 2011 as a duo and released their debut EP in 2013. They then expanded and released the "Technocologist Unknown" EP in 2016. "Geodesics" is their latest iteration of instrumental progression and mathcore. 

Progression definitely flows through the veins of Masiro. Opening track Andromeda Handshake is a clever mix of spacey melody and crunching off-kilter riffs. It’s both accessible and thought provoking with percussion and bass that seems to dictate the music’s direction, while the guitar work sounds semi-improvisational at times. K-Ursa sees the band taking things in a blues/jazz direction that’s very akin to Norwegian blackjazz band Shining, thanks to the saxophone playing of guest Charlie Cruickshank. It adds a great new element to their already engaging music and is clear and vibrant. This is an awesome release so far.

21:15 Is a hefty slab of mind altering music. It’s pretty restrained all in all but that’s fine because Masirso doesn’t need to push things to ridiculous levels of technicality to sound good. The comparisons they’ve received to Primus are more than justified too, albeit they aren’t quite as bonkers. This is so dreamy towards the end as well. Every song on “Geodesics” has it’s own personality and feeling. Intermission: Graveyard Orbit is a shorter piece and features drone soundscapes created by Lee Riley. It’s a nice little diversion but it leads straight into End Permain, which is the most progressive and most lengthy song on the record. The bass is the most striking instrument here and it weaves a crunching sound that fits the song perfectly.

Final song Grand Trine is groovy as hell throughout and while Masiro never quite breaks into heavier mathcore territory on this release, they still write fantastic music. The latter half of Grand Trine is a lot more laid back and cinematic. It ends the record on a high. Chris Pethers, Mike Bannard and Chris Hutchinson have outdone themselves here and when “Geodesics” is released later this year, it should be making a lot of end-of-year lists.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for release news and musical teasers here - https://www.facebook.com/masiromusic/

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