Talons - 2011 Commemorations

Band : Talons

Album : Commemorations

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Mathrock | Post-Rock | Progressive

Tracklist :

01 – Commiserations, Buff Orpington
02 – The Tragic Decline Of Buff Orpington
03 – The Pearl Is So Upscale It Makes Dubai’s Palm Look Like Milton Keynes
04 – Manatee
05 – Bethlehem
06 – Anthropods
07 – Trevelyan
08 - The pearl (Remix)

The long-awaited debut album from 6 piece instrumentalists, Talons. At 8 tracks and 40 minutes long, Hollow Realm takes the listener on an epic ride of beauty and brutality, creating one of the most interesting and exciting debut albums of the year. Commemorations is the 8 track Talons discography track, featuring all of their previously recorded music in one place for the first time ever.

GET IT!

Talons - 2010 Hollow Realm

Band : Talons

Album : Hollow Realm

Release Year : 2010

Genre : Mathrock / Post-Rock / Progressive

Tracklist :

01 – St Mary Will Be The Death Of Us All
02 – Peter Pan
03 – In The Shadows Of Our Stilted Homes
04 – An Expected Future Event
05 – Iris
06 – Impala
07 – Great Railroads
08 – Hollow Depth

Did you know Talons released one of the best albums of 2010? Neither did I, until just now. They’re in the post-rock/math rock realm, combining Torche’s sludginess and Russian Circles' technicality with Fang Island’s insistence on having fun all of the time forever. Hollow Realm is a non-stop party jam, friends. 

At 40 minutes, Hollow Realm shouldn't be this fun of an instrumental record. The eight songs are similar in structure, with drums a-bounding and guitars a-blazing. But the songs rock, and they rock thoroughly. “St. Mary Will Be the Death of Us All” opens the record with a stunning display of gravitas and crunch, and things just keep going from there.

Perhaps it’s the band’s secret ingredient, violinists Reuben Brunt and Sam Little, who sets the group apart from the post-rock pack. Brunt’s playing elevates the songs to truly great status. It’s an old rock ‘n’ roll cliché that strings make songs more epic. They make ballads get ballad-ier; they turn Puff Daddy’s “Come with Me” into the greatest song about Godzilla’s hatred for hoes. Here, Brunt and Little glide over all of the dissonance with deft hands, lending the songs a certain beauty when needed, like when they contrast with all of the noise that closes out “An Expected Future Event". 

Then again, guitarists Sam Jarvis and Oliver Steels provide so much contrast for Brunt and Little to work with. Their guitars serve up crunch and melody in alternate moves. Bassist Chris Hicks and drummer Alex MacDougall give the rhythm section plenty of heaviness. In short, the band locks together to form a powerful force. Hollow Realm is technical enough for metal geeks without overplaying and propulsive enough for casual rock fans. It is, per my analysis, a darn good time.

GET IT!