Constellations

Lady Coast/Reflection Mandible (Self-Released, 2010)

For: Autechre, Public Image Ltd., Burial

Byline: Denver proto-dance-punk-electro band returns as a “nationwide collective” ...finally. Plz and thx.

In a world where there’s no shortage of bands that make things look easy (and I hate most of them for it), Constellations purposefully make their music sound hard. That’s because music is hard... especially for this gang, the once Denver-based dance-punk-gone-electro-infused outfit that made serious waves on the scene before ever having the chance to release a full-length record. As members began piling on the projects and other members began to disperse about the country, hopes for an official LP from the band were nearly dashed altogether. But just like the challenging nature of their dark, highly intellectual, intensely layered, syncopated, grinding beats and scathing textures, the group’s reemergence as a “nationwide collective” represents a refreshing tenacity—some things are just too good to give up on, distance-obstacles be damned. Several years in the works now, this single is at once a welcome return for the band, but it’s also, frustratingly, only but a taste—but a morsel of that sickly-sweet’n’sour mix of sound that’s somehow progressed fantastically beyond expectations. Lady Coast is über-meticulous, fascinating, but maintains an extremely high level of listenable gusto.

For those new to the band: Expect dark. Expect beats. Expect electronics. Expect rad (uh... really rad) bass lines. Expect haunting vocals. Expect piercing guitars. With Lady Coast, you’ll get all this and more, though—Constellations is certainly parts and pieces, but it’s uniquely whole and individual. Instruments and elements simply wouldn’t survive without their symbiotic partners... Constellations is an electro-ecosystem. Real drums rely on their glitchy, gated counterparts, synth lines flow relative only to threnody drones, and so on. See those “For” artists listed above? Yeah, those guys all certainly had something to do with the overall sound of Constellations, but this band’s got something else... these are but primers pieced masterfully together to (at the risk of being cliché here) sound one of a kind. Nothing else today comes across quite like it—an extraordinarily, uncommonly unique blend into something new... and thank Jebus for that.

The songs themselves find the band largely slowing things down and really pulling from the monstrously massive dinosaur stomp of dub-step. A new-jack swing feel finds its way into hi-hats alongside a biting backbeat that lays the path for the bass to flicker in and out with catchy snippets. Zack Brown’s hushed, creepy whisper will have you following his every command in your nightmares. The best part is the detail with which programmer Cory Brown so painstakingly saturates his work. Uncrackable codes and rigorous trial and error surely worked to ensure that nothing sounds the same twice, as beats and tones are cut up and scrambled with the complexity of a calculus equation. The music constantly, consistently evolves itself, tricking you into looking for patterns where there aren’t necessarily any. This’ll have you digging for days to unlock its mysteries... but you may never be able to go quite deep enough. Accompanied by a couple of remarkable remixes, Lady Coast is one of those don’t-miss-the-boat releases of the year. Plus, it’s free, so you don’t really have an excuse.

—Craw’z 5/18/2010

d-d-d-Download this

Constellations Official Facebook

Adelyn's Pick of the Month: Balmorhea

Constellations (Western Vinyl, 02.2010)

For: Rachel's, Chaz Prymek, Hauschka

Byline: Absolutely gorgeous post-rock/neo-classical that stands in line with some of the greats in the genre.

The banjo isn’t exactly the most comely of instruments, but under the hands of Balmorhea, that thing could be a viola for all I’m concerned. It’s guttural twang is counter pointed by a gorgeous upswell of strings or a mournful guitar line. The marriage of discreet folk with the aesthetic austerity of post-classical compositions isn’t anything new, especially as Western Vinyl keeps churning out hit after hit (Sleep Whale, Slow Six), but what Balmorhea nails is the execution. There are string sections so brilliantly placed, pauses so pronounced that I could live a lifetime or more inside any moment of this album. Balmorhea seems to be operating on a next level type of songwriting (like the Die Antwoord next level) that sets Constellations heads and shoulders above any other release in this genre this year and last. In fact this could be the best release in this vein since Rachel’s The Sea and the Bells. Not simply an expressionistic deconstruction coupled around a few known chords, Balmorhea’s classical roots underpin the entire album. Beneath the delicately picked banjoes, strummed acoustic guitars and sampled vocal choirs, Erik Satie’s minimalist chord bursts and Joseph Haydn’s stringed fugues hold commanding sway. Constellations could live entirely outside of its conventions and influences as a purely evocative album, perfect for contemplative things that contemplative people do. Like walking, or driving, or the concept of Autumn. But deep inside we see the broadest swatches of Thee Silver Mt. Zion (or whatever they are calling themselves these days) brooding post-rock meets classical music, Max Richter's perfect musicianship and a whole slew of dead classical composers I could mention. Plus, there is a full-throated church organ that absolutely destroys me every time on “On the Weight of the Night”. Constellation’s accessible melding of classical and contemporary musical ideas is absolutely essential 2010 listening. In fact, if the world ends in 2012 this may be the album I put on to watch it all burn down.

Ryan H.

Balmorhea's incredible website