ICE IN A STRAINER - Communications And Other Sources Of Alert
Some bands seem to exist forever. And then there are those who want to be an antithesis to the longevity of the Rolling Stones. Luxembourgish instrumental post rock three-piece Ice In A Strainer only ever had three rehearsals, and then one afternoon of recording sessions which resulted in the seven songs that you can download for free on the Internet.
Communications And Other Sources Of Alert is less an album than a documentation what can happen when three people who are involved in other bands combine their creativity. With backgrounds as different as Eyston, Lecitone and Stories To Tell, this promises to become an interesting experience. The recording quality is not only ok, but far superior from what you would expect from such a short lived project. Everything sounds of course very basic, as if you were standing right there with the band in their rehearsing room, but this organic feeling elevates the music to a higher level. The drums have a jazzy feeling throughout the album, the guitar at times evokes lyrical qualities, and the bass guitar delivers the necessary rhythmical foundation to make these fast written songs appear like fulfilled entities.
Of course the songs could have been more complete. What you get is a work in progress from a band that stopped at a moment when other bands hardly even have begun. But there are moments of true inspiration, like two longer tracks Eastern Gate and Free Panama Channel which contains some samples about copyright issues, a very fitting topic considering that you can download this album for free.
If you are into melancholic post rock that at times reminds strongly of Karate, then you absolutely have to download this. Otherwise download it too, because you should take advantage whenever you get something for free.