Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Moons - Ekra


Ekra is a duo rock outfit from New York that's creating circular and layered music with ease. Songs like Intercourse fill the space between ambient Radiohead and dark U2. The track is instrumentally, dark and driving; while the vocal melody is more soothing, anthemic, and reverb-laden.

On Sagittarius A, a dirty trumpet opens the song before a catchy drum sequence drives the song and takes it to something you might expect from Thom Yorke. I love the way they mixed this song. Its spacious and capitalizes on the hooky vocals, while still giving support and tribute to some stellar instrumental musicianship.

Album closer, 49 Days is a mid-tempo piece featuring tight bass and drum work. It has elements as contrasting as NIN and The Postal Service, but seems to pull the angularity off.

If creative ambient-rock is your genre, you'll love Ekra. If not, you'll still appreciate the ride! I would love to see a live show to experience how they pull off the soundscapes as a duo group.

RATING: 4 of 5 stars

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