New Eux Single Released Today - Dans ce miroir

French emo/screamo band Eux have today released their new single 'Dans ce miroir'. The song will feature on the band's second album Mor(t)sang, which will be released in 2023.

For the new album, Eux have trimmed down their line-up to a three-piece, following their well-received debut album Et les Autres, which was released in 2018.

Among further news regarding the up-coming album, Eux have confirmed that there will be one or two special guests appearing. I'll leave it to them to reveal who when the time comes!

Mort(t)sang will be released with help from Hell Vice I Vicious Records, Saltamarges, Seaside Suicide Records, Voice Of The Unheard Records and Zilpzalp Records.

Eux - https://www.facebook.com/euxband

Hell Vice I Vicious Records - https://www.facebook.com/HvivRecords

Saltamarges - https://www.facebook.com/saltamarges

Seaside Suicide Records - https://www.facebook.com/SeasideSuicideRecords

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://www.facebook.com/voturecords/

Zilpzalp Records - https://www.facebook.com/zilpzalprecords

Pastel/Merridew - Split LP

Labels: Flood Records/Voice Of The Unheard Records/Monday Morning Records/La Fine Edizioni/Don't Live Like Me Records/Zegema Beach Records/Shivery.MMXII.Productions/Alcoves Records/Glass Of Spit/Upwind Productions/Go Away Records

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 13 Mar 2014

Tracklist:

1. Pastel - Momento Nove

2. Pastel - Laminal

3. Merridew - Snowflake In A Matchbox

4. Merridew - The World Is Humming Under Its Breath

I'm back with another one of my Zegema Beach Records roster reviews (this isn't all I write about now, so don't say anything!). I'm just trying to pick the pace up a bit with this series so I can try in vain to stay ahead of Dave's "Out Past The Rings" vids. This was another 2014 release that featured Italian emo band Pastel and UK instrumental ambient emo/hardcore band Merridew. It saw a vinyl release by many labels, whom I'll link to below and also a tape release via Go Away Records. It contained four songs and the vinyl pressing featured a lovely screen-printed b-side. 

Pastel is another in a long line of epic Italian emo bands. Not sure what that country has in it’s water, but it probably includes luscious red wine and Mediterranean romanticism. ‘Momento Nove” is gloriously melodic and the Italian lyrics are really stirring to say the least. It’s not a song that last’s long but it gets the heart racing. Pastel’s other contribution ‘Laminal’ is equally as mesmerising, with the audible group vox and occasionally harsh screams. It’s catchy and the percussion is beautifully hidden within the mix, though still obvious. It just makes you feel good. What more could you want.

I had no idea that Merridew was from the UK, guess I was living under a rock, ‘Snowflake In A Matchbox’ is math-like, instrumental emo that doesn’t need vocals to help it shine. Excellently played and recorded with a clear production, it’s dreamy. I know this review comes a mere six years after it’s release and for that I’m sorry, but I’m glad I’ve found it now.’ The World Humming Under Its Breath’ is much more off-kilter and that gives it more oomph but that’s only due to the tempo. It’s length as with that of ‘Snowflake In A Matchbox’ allows Merridew to express themselves with a lot more freedom and its great to hear.

If copies of this split still exist for sale in the wild, pick one up. Emo/Screamo can sometimes be fast and harsh but this split is the opposite. The genuine musicality and joyfulness that it contains should be enough. Right in the feels!

You can stream Pastel's side of this split and purchase the tracks from them here:-

Merridew's tracks can be streamed and purchased digitally via Glass Of Spit Recordings here:-

Pastel - https://www.facebook.com/pastelbanda/

Merridew - https://www.facebook.com/merridewmusic/

Physical copies (are still hopefully) available via the labels below:-

Flood Records - https://www.floodfloorshows.com/shop/pastel-merridew-split-12/

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://voturecords.com/product/pastel-merridew-split/

Zegema Beach Records - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/ / http://zegemabeachrecords.storenvy.com/

Alcoves Records - https://alcovesrecords.bandcamp.com/

Flood Floorshows/Records - https://www.facebook.com/floodhardcore/

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://www.facebook.com/voturecords/

Monday Morning Records - https://www.facebook.com/mondaymorningrec/

La Fine Edizioni - https://www.facebook.com/nellafine/

Don't Live Like Me Records - https://www.facebook.com/dontlivelikeme/

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords/

Shivery.MMXII.Productions - https://www.facebook.com/shivery.productions/

Alcoves Records - https://www.facebook.com/alcovesrecords/

Glass Of Spit Records - https://www.facebook.com/glassofspit/

Upwind Productions - https://www.facebook.com/upwindisdead/

Go Away Records - https://www.facebook.com/goawayrecords/

Winter Dust - Sense By Erosion

Labels: Time As A Color/Dingleberry Records & Distribution/Voice Of The Unheard Records/E Un Brutto Posto Dove Vivere/La Speranza Records/Backwater Transmission

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 09 Nov 2018

Tracklist:

1. Quiet January

2. Duration Of Gloom

3. All My Friends Are Leaving Town

4. Furnace

5. Composition Of Gloom

6. Disharmony

7. Cruel June

8. Stay

The clocks have gone forward and we're now heading into British summertime here in the UK. The morning's are lighter earlier and the evenings lighter for longer. It feels right then to be waving goodbye to the colder months with this new full-length from Italian post-hardcore band Winter Dust. Having been released digitally in November of last year, it's now seeing a full physical release on both CD and vinyl via the labels above. I was lucky enough to be sent a digipack CD copy to review, thanks to Time As A Color, who you should be more than familiar with if you've visited this blog before. Winter Dust's first music came in 2011 on the EP "Existence" and since then they've released a full-length called "Autumn Years" (2013), another EP "Thresholds" (2015) and the digital single Cruel June, which appears here. They count Envy, Russian Circles and Converge amongst their influences, so this should be exciting.

The post-rock and post-hardcore sub-genres continue to flourish, as bands explore both the more accessible and more inaccessible edges of the musical sphere and Winter Dust provides an accessible opener in the form of Quiet January, which is filled with introspective and cinematic instrumentation and spoken word samples. What follows is the slow building Duration Of Gloom, with spacey musical textures that harness a great sense of anticipation. It’s agonising anticipation that is sated not long afterwards as Winter Dust’s volume rises and the first glimpse at their hardcore comes into view. It’s sensitively delivered and the added aggression does not detract from the instrumentation in any way. Gloriously crafted post-hardcore.

There’s a real poignancy to All My Friends Are Leaving Town, which is magnified by the sedate instrumentation and quietly sung vocals during the opening two minutes. Even when the song gets heavier, Winter Dust manages to make it sound both lovely and huge (in a cinematic way!). Just let it whisk you away. Furnace might at first sound like an experimental drone song, but it’s not long before the looping sounds give way to more of what the band does best. The majority of its six-minute playing time is made up of fantastic instrumental passages, showing off the post-metal influences that Winter Dust wear so well. The vocals are present, but only in the form of brief screams that are equally as enjoyable and that briefness makes them standout.

The second half of record takes over with the short Composition Of Gloom. It’s melody is drenched in melancholy but also a healthy dose of early-morning sunshine (if you get where I’m coming from with that analogy). That early-morning sunshine/dreamy feel reverberates around the entire room to the sounds of Disharmony. You’d think with a title like that, it would be aggressive and caustic but it’s not. Again, the instrumentation takes centre stage and paints more pictures that words ever could.

At this point in the album, as penultimate song Cruel June plays, I feel it’s pointless me trying to find other ways to describe how good “Sense By Erosion” is. In a time when even sub-genres such as post-hardcore and post-metal have embraced modern and increasingly more fashionable ideas, it’s refreshing to hear a band that focus on the music and who make it sound so real. Closer Stay features swathes of piano and orchestral strings to illustrate that and to really embrace the feelings and emotions that both went into creating “Sense By Erosion” and those that radiate out at the other side. What an incredibly body of work this is. I don’t know if it could be considered for release of the year, but it really should be.

Make sure you stream "Sense By Erosion" in it's entirety below, where it's available to purchase on vinyl, CD and also digitally:-

Winter Dust - https://www.facebook.com/winterdust

It's also available from the lovely labels below:-

Time As A Color - https://timeasacolor.com/ / https://www.facebook.com/timeasacolor/

Dingleberry Records & Distribution - https://www.facebook.com/Dingleberry-records-and-distribution

Voice Of The Unheard Records - https://voturecords.com/ / https://www.facebook.com/voturecords/

E Un Brutto Posto Dove Vivere - https://www.facebook.com/eunbruttopostodovevivere/

La Speranza Records - https://www.facebook.com/LSRLabel/

Backwater Transmission - https://www.facebook.com/backwatertransmission/