Let's Run To The Philosophers
We were recently contacted by Let’s Run To The Philosophers. A three piece post rock band from Ireland basing their outlook on bands such as Sigur Ros (I love the band personally!) and Explosions in the Sky. Already having a reputation for electric live shows, the band recorded their debut EP in August of 2011. According to their bio, Send Us To Space is definitely worth a listen, capturing a mix of moods and sounds in just 18 minutes. I figured it was only right as such that I check out what’s on with these guys!
Opening the EP with 38, everything starts off very melodic and chilled out, an acoustic guitar line starting proceedings over a thumping drum beat, the whole mix creating a sense of atmosphere, luring you in to find out what’s coming next. Shifting up a gear through a bassy distorted guitar line, soon the pace is hammering out at you, creating an even bigger sound to really capture the idea of different moods which these guys set out to achieve. Alternating the guitar throughout the track, there’s a set of contrasts firmly placed in the mix here, never allowing one section to over do the other and always pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve musically. What’s really striking about this track is the lack of vocals, whilst they’re not there, you don’t miss them as the music does all of the talking which is needed. Moody and deep, this is a hell of an introduction to a band and demonstrates just how able these guys are to craft a song which doesn’t just ask you to listen to it, it asks you to think about it as well.
Mountain Behind a Broken Frame comes up next, once again opening evocatively through a synth and guitar mix, the whole mix harking to the likes of Sigur Ros and also, doing the comparison justice. Progressing into a simple but effective drum beat to underpin the dark mixture of elements, straight away there’s a sense that this is going to be another track which asks you to think, asks you to allow yourself to be enveloped by the sound and led along for the journey. There’s slightly less power to this track, which almost suggests visions of a deserted stormy beach, or a storm brewing with rumbles of thunder, the track almost building in line with the images conjured up in your head. Never allowing the track to get carried away, this is an example of how restrained instruments can still evoke a reaction in those that hear the music, it allows you to create your own train of thought to match the track. That said, the build-up midway through is enough to shake you to your core, not distorted, just powerful and drum heavy.
Title track Send Us To Space closes the EP, opening once again with the harmonic sounding backing effects and picked guitar line, this time fading them in and out to create that sense of movement through the track. Kicking into the drums, once again there’s a real sense of the track building up to something, the lead snippets suggesting that there’s more to follow. Kicking in with some distortion from time to time, I like the way that once again, the band haven’t gotten carried away with the chance to make something heavier for the sake of doing it, instead opting to keep the track how they want it to sound, and it works. Out of all of the tracks I would probably label this one as my personal favourite, I just like the way it builds and powers up throughout the track, ending as a crescendo of instruments and power.
In all, I’ve really liked Let’s Run To The Philosophers and at no point have wanted there to be lyrics in the songs, they’re simply not needed. The instrumentation of the tracks is enough to keep the tracks powerful, always twisting and turning to make sure you don’t get bored, throwing in unexpected turns to keep you guessing as to what’s going to come next. If this is their debut EP then personally, I can’t wait to see what comes next!
To find out more about Let’s Run To The Philosophers, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Opening the EP with 38, everything starts off very melodic and chilled out, an acoustic guitar line starting proceedings over a thumping drum beat, the whole mix creating a sense of atmosphere, luring you in to find out what’s coming next. Shifting up a gear through a bassy distorted guitar line, soon the pace is hammering out at you, creating an even bigger sound to really capture the idea of different moods which these guys set out to achieve. Alternating the guitar throughout the track, there’s a set of contrasts firmly placed in the mix here, never allowing one section to over do the other and always pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve musically. What’s really striking about this track is the lack of vocals, whilst they’re not there, you don’t miss them as the music does all of the talking which is needed. Moody and deep, this is a hell of an introduction to a band and demonstrates just how able these guys are to craft a song which doesn’t just ask you to listen to it, it asks you to think about it as well.
Mountain Behind a Broken Frame comes up next, once again opening evocatively through a synth and guitar mix, the whole mix harking to the likes of Sigur Ros and also, doing the comparison justice. Progressing into a simple but effective drum beat to underpin the dark mixture of elements, straight away there’s a sense that this is going to be another track which asks you to think, asks you to allow yourself to be enveloped by the sound and led along for the journey. There’s slightly less power to this track, which almost suggests visions of a deserted stormy beach, or a storm brewing with rumbles of thunder, the track almost building in line with the images conjured up in your head. Never allowing the track to get carried away, this is an example of how restrained instruments can still evoke a reaction in those that hear the music, it allows you to create your own train of thought to match the track. That said, the build-up midway through is enough to shake you to your core, not distorted, just powerful and drum heavy.
Title track Send Us To Space closes the EP, opening once again with the harmonic sounding backing effects and picked guitar line, this time fading them in and out to create that sense of movement through the track. Kicking into the drums, once again there’s a real sense of the track building up to something, the lead snippets suggesting that there’s more to follow. Kicking in with some distortion from time to time, I like the way that once again, the band haven’t gotten carried away with the chance to make something heavier for the sake of doing it, instead opting to keep the track how they want it to sound, and it works. Out of all of the tracks I would probably label this one as my personal favourite, I just like the way it builds and powers up throughout the track, ending as a crescendo of instruments and power.
In all, I’ve really liked Let’s Run To The Philosophers and at no point have wanted there to be lyrics in the songs, they’re simply not needed. The instrumentation of the tracks is enough to keep the tracks powerful, always twisting and turning to make sure you don’t get bored, throwing in unexpected turns to keep you guessing as to what’s going to come next. If this is their debut EP then personally, I can’t wait to see what comes next!
To find out more about Let’s Run To The Philosophers, check out their Facebook page HERE.