Saturday, April 5, 2008

Sidewaytown - Years In the Wall (Skygaze Music)

Feeling like an outsider, "a stranger on sideways", and inspired by Sigur Rós live performances and their unique constructed language, Markus Baltes builds his own world, calling it Sidewaytown. Instead of brooding shoegaze, Baltes adds edgy guitars and creates Germany’s first skygazing post-rock, layered with his vocals. After years of trial and error, in frustration of previously failed attempts, Baltes thrusts himself into a studio with Markus Stock (Ulf Theodor Schwadorf), to rerecord his opus. At first the album seemed a bit blend to me, but the more I listened, the more I picked out the melodies, and the story unfolded. I definitely prefer to be blown away by an album from the start, but there are also some instances where the intricate details can be marveled upon only after repeated and detailed examination. Like a sip of wine that initially overwhelms, yet upon additional tasting opens its bouquet for your buds to dance to. So does the story of Sidewaytown unfolds. In addition to Sigur Rós, Baltes names My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Oceansize, and David Lynch to be among his many influences. Support the artist by buying the album directly from the official website.

myspace.com/sidewaytown | sidewaytown.com

No comments: