Sickoakes - Seawards [Type - 2006]Sickoakes mix post rock with haunting classical ambient flourishes, the album has a beautiful silken texture to it, each track drifting hazily into the next.
Driftwood opens the album up with heat hazed piano tones hovered over by an almost Hawaiian like guitar. Much like it’s title, it brings to mind drifting slowly in crystal clear waters, soothing sunlight warming your face, but the end seems to hint of darker waters. Oceans on hold takes in echoing, tight guitar riffs, with running water like piano notes underneath, giving a wonderful melodic wall of sound that builds and builds.Though out there’s a nice use of layered percussion, as the track swoops up and down, like a kite caught in twisting winds.Wedding Rings & Bullets in the same Shrine (part 2) represents the longest track,at over 20 minutes. Starting off with a great repetitive string hit, slowly but surely the layers of instrumentation build up, giving a wonderful lush melancholy melody, that very much brings to mind God Speed you black Emperor, but with a distinctive Russian feel. All in an enjoyable release, that embodies the best of epic post rock, possible some of it sounds a tad like other bands in the genre, but there’s enough of their own personality in the sound to make it worthwhile.
   Roger Batty
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