Lights Out Asia - Tanks and Recognizers

angryape

Lights Out Asia's sophomore release, "Tanks and Recognizers", is easily the closest n5MD has come to delivering a standard rock ensemble from its largely electronic based roster.

This Wisconsin trio have a gift for blending shoegaze dynamics and 80's pop sensibilities with banks of over-driven guitars. Sharing some similarities with labelmate, Bitcrush, Lights Out Asia also incorporate those innovative electronics that are so often a hallmark of an n5MD record.

"Tanks and Recognizers" is as lush and multi-layered as any album out there at the moment, with LOA employing strict attention to detail techniques. "Ring of Stars" is Sigur Ros gone synthetic, as whiplashed beats ricochet around glacial tones, while velvet synths produce a soothing backdrop. Swells of mournful violins emerge later, from the dense layers of sound, ushering this track into more plaintive territories.

"Four Square", meanwhile, would not sound out of place during My Bloody Valentine's Creation heyday. A nostalgic drum pattern provides the template, as Lights Out Asia move from slow-motion ambiance into a New Order inspired collision of vintage electro and searing distortion.

Chris Schafer's vocals are buried throughout the mix, only emerging to offer fleeting glimpses of his powerful range. Perhaps increasing the use of his vocals is a direction this trio will pursue in the future, this reviewer certainly hopes so. The vocal arrangements gives "Tanks..." focus and adds an air of invigoration, where it lacks in some of the instrumental compositions.

The celestial opening of "March Against The Savages", for example, contrasts wonderfully with the compressed beats and grainy samples. But, it's Schafer's vocals that propel this song skywards.

Elsewhere, his subdued tones adds depth to the 11 minute album closer, "Spiti Elefas", complimenting the epic arrangement perfectly. A slow moving composition, Lights Out Asia create a similar feeling to that of being submerged in water, by layering seemingly hundreds of melancholic arpeggios throughout.

Constructing the sort of haze-filled, reverb saturated sounds that will appease fans of Port-Royal or even Mogwai's recent flirtations with electronics, Lights Out Asia match their intent with delivery for the most part on "Tanks and Recognizers". Successfully dissolving the lines between shoegaze and electronica in the process, this is solid stuff.

igloomag

First of all, a big shout out to all the Tron fans out there who catch the reference in the title. Hell yeah. Tron blew the back of my nine year old head off when I saw it in the theatre. I went on to lie, beg, borrow, and sneak my way in to see if five more times. And while I'll never make my own Tron suit, I'll always defend it to the haters. Thanks to Lights Out Asia for bringing one more reminder of the awesomeness of Tron to light. Unexpectedly, the album itself if not a Wendy/Walter Carlos synth-fest, not at all. Matter of fact, that's about as far away as one could get from what Tanks and Recognizers is -- perhaps the most satisfying neo-shoegaze record ever. No qualms about it, I'm saying ever. Stripping away the excesses of My Bloody Valentine, and dumping it next to the aggression of Ride, Lights Out Asia marry the bliss of early Chapterhouse to the fragile structures of Slowdive, and end up sounding like Wayne Coyne fronting Flying Saucer Attack, with Mark Van Hoen producing. Hyperbole? Perhaps. I don't think so, but I have to concede, that may be a little over the top. But only because this record is so solid from beginning to end. LOA masterfully match a floating kosmiche vibe with soaring vocals on "March Against The Savages," and chiming guitars to Florian Fricke-washes of atmosphere on "Art Divided By Science." And these are just two of nine fully-realized songs. It's about time shoegaze came back, and Lights Out Asia is right out front.

cold room

Né début 2003 de l’association de deux membres de Aurore Rien (Chris Schafer et Mike Ystad) et de Mike Rush, le trio américain Lights Out Asia, fraichement débarqué sur n5MD pour son deuxième album, qui voit le jour quatre ans après Garmonia (SunSeaSky - 2003), fait quelque peu figure d’outsider face à la bonne vingtaine d’artistes qui peuplent déjà les lieux. Si le label a déjà maintes fois fait preuve d’un relatif éclectisme concernant ses productions, l’éventail des genres s’élargit encore un peu (beaucoup, devrais-je dire), avec la récente sortie de Tanks And Recognizers. Ca peut surprendre, certes, mais après s’être intéressé de plus près à l’objet en question on comprend aisément qu’il faudrait être fou pour refuser de sortir un tel chef d’œuvre, peu importe que ça diffère un peu du reste. Tout ça pour vous dire que même si l’on pourrait plus rapprocher Lights Out Asia de Bitcrush et SubtractiveLAD que de Proem, ce sont plutôt les guitares qui prédominent ici, et non les bidouilles électroniques, pas totalement absentes pour autant et c’est bien là la richesse de cet album. Bon, le mélange acoustique et électronique ne date pas d’hier, mais on peut observer ces temps-ci un petit renouveau tendance milk shake post-rock-shoegaze-electronica. Et si rares sont ceux qui peuvent se targuer de maitriser vraiment la chose, Light Out Asia mérite largement une marche du podium, tout comme Iambic² qu’on avait découvert l’an dernier sur Laridae. Tanks And Recognizers place la barre encore plus haut que Garmonia (on prendra la peine de signaler que le niveau était déjà assez élevé) brandissant des mélodies entêtantes, des envolées spectaculaires, et un chant à vous donner la chair de poule. Si l’équivalent de notre septième ciel est "cloud nine" en anglais, l’expression s’applique parfaitement au neuvième morceau de l’album (Spiti Elefas) qui vous transportera pendant quasiment onze minutes, et vous fera oublier tout ce que vous avez pu écouter dernièrement. Au risque d’avoir l’air de me répéter, c’est beau, c’est jouissif, ça fait pousser des pâquerettes dans le métro, et c’est plus que vivement recommandé.

gridface

Earlier this year n5MD released the trio of Lights Out Asia’s sophomore debut. Consisting of members Mike Ystad, Chris Schafer, and Michael Rush, Lights Out Asia creates beautiful ambient post-rock that brings to mind artists such as Explosions in the Sky and Cocteau Twins mastermind Robin Guthrie. While not quite as concerned with tense build-ups as other post-rock outfits, Lights Out Asia makes for perfect nighttime music, whether lying in your bed, on the brink of lights out yourself, or just relaxing on a cool evening. Atmospheric pads and delayed guitars swirl perfectly around subtle, IDM-style drum editing. There are vocals on about half the album, but they are few and there are no hooks. Often the vocals come across as just another instrument in the dense compositions, never distracting. This truly is a musical album, making individual song discussion irrelevant.

Tanks and Recognizers is meant to be taken in fully and completely; however, I believe the true centerpiece of the album, must be “March Against the Savages.” It starts off with guitar arpeggio and what sounds like distant birds chirping, and then a melancholy lead swoops in with a nice, shuffling rock beat. Electronic squiggles bounce around until a belting vocal comes in to finish the track in grandiose style. Like much of the album, the song feels short even though it weaves and climbs for nearly eight minutes. If I had to sum up the sound in only a few words, I think I’d dub it futuristic space lullabies.

textura

n5MD seems effortlessly able to give listeners one high-quality release after another and the trend continues with Lights Out Asia's Tanks and Recognizers, the Wisconsin trio's sophomore full-length and n5MD debut. Formed in 2003 by Aurore Rien members Chris Schafer and Mike Ystad and later joined by guitarist Mike Rush, the group operates in a sonic zone peopled by Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, and deploys an epic, cathedralesque production style favoured by the likes of Robin Guthrie. Put simply, Lights Out Asia's style might be described as an ethereal fusion of dreampop, shoegaze, and post-rock.

It takes no more than half a minute for the gorgeous opener “Roy” to rise heavenward when electric guitar peals swoop over a billowing mass of strings, while the driving beats and guitar blaze of “ Four Square ” reveal the trio's post-rock and shoegaze leanings. Other peaks? Try “Art Divided by Science,” seven gorgeous minutes of chiming guitars and cinematic strings, or perhaps the eleven-minute closer “Spiti Elefas,” whose shimmering atmospheres, programmed beats, and guitar lattices encapsulate all of the group's tendencies and strengths in one fell swoop. Elsewhere, the trio's penchant for blending electronic elements and acoustic instruments gets a nice showcase in “Ring of Stars” where strings sing sweetly amidst tinkling melodies, and Canadian listeners will be chuffed to hear Ontario 's capital get a shout-out (“Oh! Toronto ”). Five minutes into “March Against the Savages,” Lights Out Asia even briefly turns into U2 when vocals uncannily similar to Bono's soar over an anthemic, axe-driven roar. A solid outing, then, with one exception: the group might want to consider retiring vocals in the future, as they're of second-rate caliber (on “Oh! Toronto ” in particular) but, more importantly, are hardly required when the music is already so strong on its own.