Long Distance Calling - The Flood Inside (Album Review)
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Written by Ben Bland
Long Distance Calling have always stood out somewhat from their contemporaries in the world of instrumental hard rock. The terminology used there perhaps illustrates why, but if you haven’t heard the band before and are expecting your standard atmosphere heavy post-rock out of the group then maybe it is time to think again.
You see, more than any other supposed ‘post-rock’ group out there, Long Distance Calling have always been a bit about the rock and roll. They haven’t taken themselves too seriously and, by the time of their self-titled release a couple of years back, were engaging on a sound that owed as much to the band’s love of classic and progressive rock as it did to the likes of Isis and Mogwai. Live, they exhibit beaming smiles and headbang like their lives depend on it, in stark contrast to the moodier and more reserved band members that usually make up groups of this genre. Perhaps the real giveaway that this record will enhance that side of the band is the fact that it is their first with a full-time vocalist, Martin ‘Marsen’ Fischer. Whilst Long Distance Calling have regularly enlisted the assistances of the likes of John Bush and Jonas Renske in the past, this move towards vocals signals that they are ready to step away once and for all from the frustrating genre tags that have often haunted their progressions in sound.
Not that you would know from opener 'Nucleus'. Guitar soloing aside, it is about as straightforward a ‘post-rock’ track as the band has ever done. Then 'Inside the Flood' arrives and Marsen gets in on the action for the first time. He is clearly a talented vocalist and his tones suit the alternating atmospheric and energetic sides of the band. The addition of more regular vocals, meanwhile, means that the band’s continued exploration of heavy rock terrain is able to communicate its depth more easily than ever before. The highlight of the record, perhaps unfortunately for Marsen, is however 'Welcome Change', featuring guest appearances by Petter Carlsen and Vincent Cavanagh. It’s a soaring track, and a first example to date of true emotion wrenching on a Long Distance Calling record. Almost as impressive is the instrumental 'Waves', which features some great sampling alongside some propulsive musical work.
The only real problem, in fact, with 'The Flood Inside' is that it too often takes too long to make its point. It’s not an obscenely long record but half the tracks do feel a bit like they have overstayed their welcome at points. Closer 'Breaker' is clearly meant to be the big epic rounding off the album, but some of the instrumental sections are lacking direction, and the aforementioned opener 'Nucleus' feels like a seven minute warm-up for the rest of the album rather than a composition of note in its own right. Whilst these issues don’t make 'The Flood Inside' bad in any way, it does mean that some of the impact is dampened.
Despite its flaws, however, 'The Flood Inside' is a confident and assured fourth record. The inclusion of Fischer is clearly still yet to reap its highest dividends but this is a promising debut of the new Long Distance Calling and suggests that there is much, much more to come.
'The Flood Inside' is out on 4th March via Superball Music. Long Distance Calling tour the UK in March.
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You see, more than any other supposed ‘post-rock’ group out there, Long Distance Calling have always been a bit about the rock and roll. They haven’t taken themselves too seriously and, by the time of their self-titled release a couple of years back, were engaging on a sound that owed as much to the band’s love of classic and progressive rock as it did to the likes of Isis and Mogwai. Live, they exhibit beaming smiles and headbang like their lives depend on it, in stark contrast to the moodier and more reserved band members that usually make up groups of this genre. Perhaps the real giveaway that this record will enhance that side of the band is the fact that it is their first with a full-time vocalist, Martin ‘Marsen’ Fischer. Whilst Long Distance Calling have regularly enlisted the assistances of the likes of John Bush and Jonas Renske in the past, this move towards vocals signals that they are ready to step away once and for all from the frustrating genre tags that have often haunted their progressions in sound.
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