Short Reviews [IWKC - 2012 - "Urban Fears"]

What we have here is IWKC’s 2012 debut album, which when released on R.A.I.G Records also contained three bonus tracks which were originally taken from their 2010 ‘Best Days’ EP. Although the CD itself is no longer available, both ‘Urban Fears’ and ‘Best Days’ are available through Bandcamp. I have previously reviewed their third and fourth albums, so it is interesting to go back in time. Formed by brothers Nick Samarin (keyboards, guitars) and Nik Samarin (drums, electronics, design), by the time of the album release they also included Andrei Silin (keyboards, electronics), Alexander Ivanov (bass), Artem Litvakovsky (cello) and guest violinist Anastasiya Narochnaya. This is instrumental post rock, which is majestic in its style, with the strings adding wonderful depth. There is a grace and tranquillity, yet also a great feeling of mass and it makes me think of a decadent luxurious ocean liner cutting through the waves. There is no rush, but rather a knowledge that this is an unstoppable force which contains a beauty within. The drums and cymbals cut through what is sometimes a solid wall of sound with the bass and guitars at one with the cello and violin, which combine to create something which is solid and real. Consequently, when the music takes a different turn with picked acoustic guitar against the strings (such as on “Waiting for the Disaster”) the change in approach ensures it has even great impact. The use of dynamics is very powerful indeed, and as with all good post rock we are transported away into a different time and space. The last three songs were recorded when the band was a quartet with no use of strings and shows them moving in a more progressive direction with the keyboards being much more strident and dominant, but with the guitars still very much in the post rock vein, and the CD allows us to understand how they were musically changing. Overall, this is a really interesting debut.