Each Other
Heavily Spaced EP
Release Date: October 25, 2012
Track Listing
- Ash Mound
- An Instant
- Bad Neighbours
- Good Neighbourhood
- A Strong Spinning
- Finally Collided
Personnel
Brad Loughead – vocals, bass, and guitar
Mike Wright – vocals, bass, and guitar
Christian Simmons – percussion and tape echo
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the trio of Each Other (Brad Loughead, Mike Wright and Christian Simmons) moved to Montreal where they’ve developed a reputation for creating a garage rock sound that sounds both intense and artsy. After the release of a short run cassette EP and a 7” from Crikey! and Prison Art Records respectively, and a tour of North America, the band will be following it up with their latest effort, Heavily Spaced.
Running at about 20 minutes, the album’s six songs will draw favorable comparisons to Wire, Mission of Burma, Brooklyn’s the Standing Nudes, Violens, and XTC – thanks in part to the slashing, angular attack of guitar lines that also manage to gently crinkle and chime. And with slightly off-kilter harmonies that reverb and seem to float and dart about the mix, there’s a trippy, psychedelic feel that makes the material sound as though it could have easily come out in 1963 as it could have come out today. It gives the material a dusty, ragged charm – and it’s the closest thing to sounding as though the masters were recorded on old tape reels.
With none of the EP’s songs going over 5 minutes, there may be a misguided belief that the songs you’ll hear are simple, but they’re actually quite complex. Songs like “Ash Mound,” “An Instant,” and “Bad Neighbours,” play with time signatures or have unusual chord changes. Much like Interpol’s Antics the songs consist more of separate movements stitched together to create a specific mood; however, there’s a clearer sense of chorus, verse and bridge – or at least it seems more recognizable in a traditional sense. Although warmly familiar, Heavily Spaced manages the ability to sound a bit alien to even the most erudite listener, thanks in part to a playful sense of experimentation, while being accessible, and the ability to reveal something interesting and different upon repeated listens. It’s one of the most interesting albums that have been released this month, and it’s quickly found a way into my rotation.
