about
Recorded by Joe Garcia at ‘Joe’s Garage’, Bristol (UK), September - December 2016.
Mastered by Will Turner-Duffin
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Will Turner-Duffin - Guitar
Eliza Gregory - Vocals/Lyrics
Dan Arrowsmith - Drums
Chris Wilson - Bass
CD version by Third I Rex & The Braves Records
credits
released September 24, 2017
“‘Let the Long Night Fade’ sounds like extreme weather conditions…”
…was the first description of the record by a friend of Row of Ashes, and no comparison could be more on-point. This debut collection of songs share a tense atmosphere which all vary dramatically in dynamics. Owing as much to a Phil Spectre-style wall of undulating, apocalyptic-noise channelled through stack amps, as to the emotional honesty of T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland, it could be the sonic equivalent of helplessly watching a storm develop, destroy everything around you, and finally, assessing the devastation once it has passed.
It would be usual to expect a singular modus operandi from a band who are predominantly seasoned in the heavier and less-mainstream end of the musical spectrum, drawing from and playing in Death Metal, Grind, Sludge and Hardcore outfits for the majority of their careers (a rough roll call of projects you can see next to each member’s name). Yet there’s more to RoA album than the traditions attributed to these genres, as there are influences called upon way outside of their musical origins making for a highly creative milieu, and the results near-defy categorisation.
That’s not to say ‘LTLNF’ is a complete departure. As the debt to the dark and heavy side of music is palpable in the eye of the proverbial storm: in the death growls and furious droning riffs that pinpoint crescendos. But its presence in the atmospherics and more delicate, imperfect, where-do- we-go- from-here chanteuse vocals, strings, keyboards and piano parts which wouldn’t be out of place in a dank Berlin jazz club or an update on a Da-Da Art-house soundtrack, is faithfully retained and almost beautiful in its bleak outlook.
These pieces run together seamlessly, and the stories told in the lyrics are influenced by the characters and landscapes of a 21st Century UK in existential crisis, the dilapidated sea-side towns, desolate countryside expanses, and rioting cities. This is a bold and brave record, for bold and brave music lovers who like their artists to lead the way down new, unexpected paths.