ARTISTS: Dangerous Trap/The End Of Science
TITLE: self-titled split
ARTIST LINKS:
DANGEROUS TRAP: www.metersandmilesrecordings.com
THE END OF SCIENCE: www.theendofscience.net
ARTIST COUNTRY: USA
GENRE: Post-Rock
TRACKLIST:
Dangerous Trap-
1_ I Do A Pretty Good Muppet Walk
2_ Oh, I've Been To Prague
The End Of Science-
3_ The Avid Hornet Has To Dive Before It Enters The Transparent Lair Of Leaning Flowers
4_ LIVE! Orange Sunshine
There were two things that happened to me a few days ago during all the New Year's hubbub that had never happened to me before. These two occurrences made me feel that there is still hope during my life in a Post-George Dubya piss stain that is the modern world. The first was getting my first ever hug from my best buddy after about 5 years of knowing each other. It might have had something to do with him jamming to Europe four days later, but nevertheless, it really meant a lot to me. The second thing came not too long afterward, and I bullshit you not when I say that it meant just as much to me.
For the first time, someone had reached out to me, a perfect stranger, about submitting material to be reviewed here. That stranger turns out to be Jarod Weldin. It wasn't just the thrill of being told by someone I didn't know that he enjoyed my writing. The material, a split tape of what has NEVER been covered here in TFK, a sort of very honest and pure Rock 'N Roll, happened to be one of the best So-Carolina and So-Cal-born pieces to ever hit my ears.
There are four tracks in this tape, which is to be released on January 18. The sound immediately took me back to my nineteenth birthday at the Home Depot Center here in Cali. It was on August 27, 2004 that I had the privilege to attend the Curiosa festival. The line-up for the main stage: The Rapture, Mogwai, Interpol, and The Cure, in that order. Like many others, for me, the later two were what I had come to see to celebrate with my pals. Little did my homeboys or I expect to have our minds blown away by what I now affectionately call The Mogsters. They were something of a revelation to me, my first real dose of a style of Rock that built huge, elaborate and very beautiful soundscapes. No vocals, just a bunch of guys with a bunch of Line6 amps making fucking magic.
Jarod fronts Dangerous Trap, the one-man band that provoked these tender memories for me. It was also very surprising and heart-warming to find out that the band who composed the other two driving and melodic entries on this new cassette was formed by a father 'n son duo, Greg & Alex of the Mauro clan. Not having a living dad meself, this presented to me a very endearing concept, being a witness to the high splendor that can be achieved when a man and his offspring join artistic forces.
Like few other split releases I've heard, this pairing is almost seamless. Both bands in question are just as great as each other, the styles just as harmonic, soul-touching and thought-provoking. Jarod W. is the mastermind behind the longer songs on this split, averaging at about 9 1/2 minutes. These emotionally-indulgent tracks are very close to the Mogwai sound, but they are actually more grounded, less spacey than the reverb and effect-laden Mogsters. These tracks are something very luminous and without pretensions. "I Do A Pretty Good Muppet Walk" is my favorite track from the Dangerous Trap. The names of his tracks are explained below...
My favorite from the loins + the fruit-of is "The Avid Hornet Has To Dive Before It Enters The Transparent Lair Of Leaning Flowers". This track leads a heavier way through, and like "LIVE! Orange Sunshine", the sound put forth from these two gentlemen really do exude, as well as INDUCE, very sunshiny feelings. Or rather, sunSETy feelings. Though The End Of Science grants us a more aggressive approach, they still keep it together by letting us have more determined compositions, like someone who is facing a life in front of him knowing damn well he's a bout to do some great things.
I am quite happy to have had a chance to consider this before its release! You guys ROCK. Literally. And that is something this blog has needed without me knowing. I'm happy that someone had the grace to feel that what he and his buddies have to offer is good enough to stand out among a set of reviews on some heavy, dark, electronic stuff. It IS. It really is. If this were the Nineties, these guys would have record contracts and a special place in my Walkman. Well, it is a tape... and the Nineties are still here... in my heart.
Superb work, very emotional, and worthy of more praise than merely mine.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
JAROD WELDIN-
Dangerous Trap at this point is essentially my solo project. As much as I do enjoy collaborating with musicians and playing in bands, I started this project as a way of creating music without necessarily having to depend on working around other people's schedules, agendas, levels of enthusiasm/ambition, etc.
A big influence in convincing myself to follow through with the recordings came from punk rock; Dischord Records, The Minutemen, that do it yourself attitude. If you want to do something, do it. I recorded the songs using an old 8 track recorder and mixed them on my laptop. The drums were recorded using only three mics, one of which I bought from Radio Shack for around ten dollars. All of the guitar parts were recorded using a small, inexpensive Roland 1 x 10" amp. The recordings are certainly not without their share of flaws, but I think they are still a testament to the fact that with a little improvisation and creativity, you can still "jam econo" and create something that you're happy with. The song titles are lines from the Noah Baumbach films Kicking and Screaming (Oh, I've Been To Prague) and Mr. Jealousy (I Do A Pretty Good Muppet Walk).
THE END OF SCIENCE-
The End Of Science (post-rock, experimental, visual, instrumental narrative) was formed by Greg and Alex Mauro (father and son) and began writing and recording in 2008, releasing "OMGWTFBBQ" later that year; "Hence the Title" in mid 2009; and "Yrthak" via Futurerecordings Label in mid 2010. The band is based in San Diego.
Process etc...:
All songs are written and recorded in our humble home studio. The creative process (and recording process) varies for each piece - we try and steer clear of a "factory like" production or formulaic composition. We want each piece of music to exist in it's own sound-world, so the harmonic language, structure, gesture and feel of the music completely dictate how it will be written, arranged and recorded - no two songs are done in the same way.
Songs on the split release:
Both songs are previously unreleased...
"The Avid Hornet..." was inspired by some chord voicings Alex was messing with on piano. The title and emotional inspiration for the arrangement comes from the poem "Graves" by Rilke.
"LIVE! Orange Sunshine" was basically are very organized jam session recorded to sound a little dirty with "live" ambience. Of course the title is actually a brand of LSD "Orange Sunshine" created by The Brotherhood of Eternal Love (smugglers :) which I suppose had something to do with our approach to the sonic textures.
