Implodes, it must be said, aren’t a very “summer-y” band, so it’s a good thing I caught their opening set for Joan of Arc in the dark, air-conditioned confines of Mercury Lounge. Hot on the heels of their debut release on Kranky Records, Black Earth, the band appeared to be eager to move past that new material into even more uncharted musical territory. This set boasted a number of brand-new songs, but the Black Earth material made for a good jumping-off point, as the band opened with that album’s three leadoff tracks. Implodes tunes have a cosmic sweep to them, with airy lead guitar riffs soaring above a foreboding, dense backbeat. Vocals, where used, are sung with the reverb on high, adding to the ghostly, atmospheric quality of the songs. Some songs abandon traditional melodic structure entirely and shift into ambient territory, echoing some of the band Mogwai’s more subtle interludes. That said, Implodes are not toying with the loud-soft dynamic in the way that some other successful post-rock acts do; their songs focus more on sustaining a level of tension throughout, without the cataclysmic release of, say, an Explosions in the Sky tune. Several of the new songs, none of which I knew the titles to, were particularly strong, indicating that the promise of Black Earth is only the beginning for this young band.
I recorded this set with a soundboard feed of the usual high-quality house mix from Kevin of Mercury Lounge, coupled with the Schoeps supercardiod microphones. The recording is outstanding. Enjoy!
Joan of Arc was recorded and will be posted in the next few days.
Stream “Marker”:
[audio:https://www.nyctaper.com/I8010Implodes1120/02 Marker.mp3]
Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
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Implodes
2011-08-10
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA
An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com
Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6 + Soundboard >> Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: ROC, at soundboard, mics split 1′, PAS
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audition (effects, mixdown)>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and balance)>FLAC (level 8 )
Tracks
01 Open the Door
02 Marker
03 White Window
04 [banter]
05 [unknown]
06 [tuning]
07 Screech Owl
08 [unknown]
09 [banter]
10 [unknown]
PLEASE SUPPORT Implodes, like them on facebook, and purchase Black Earth directly from Kranky [HERE]
awesome. loving ken camden and just came across your show.