I was sitting on my front bench, looking at the castle, the church and thinking how lucky and privileged I am to live in this part of the world – the sight was made even better with the backdrop of ‘Ascend’ by Aswekeepsearching, a lulling instrumental and the final track of their new album, Zia. This was quickly followed by a gentle pulsating drum beat as ‘Then Comes Spring’ rushes to meet you (yeah, it’s the first song but I had the album on repeat…so sue me…plus it loops really well!).
[like_to_read][/like_to_read]
This album evokes some varied emotions, the album moves in a linear way, almost like the seasons and it was the perfect accompaniment to my riverside walk, in fact, I would not be at all surprised if any of these tracks appear on a documentary or film because the music lures you in to it and makes everything around you beautiful.
‘Zia’ is the third album by Aswekeepsearching, the first two being ‘Khwaab’ and ‘Growing Suspicions’. The albums all explore a similar sound but I find that ‘Zia’ is more orchestral, a bigger sound you can feel the confidence behind the tracks growing as you move through the albums.
The band are very akin to Sigur Ros, the Icelandic outfit with their lulling rhythms and their mainly instrumental vibe. The drums on the whole album were fabulous, irregular beats that tingle the ears. When listening to Zia on earphones the sound is really full, the use of voices in the background, which I’m not sure can be heard fully when listened on the speakers, are a really good addition.
The overall feel is almost orchestral, and what sounds like more Hindi influence, that’s what set Aswekeepsearching aside from other post-rock bands, their subtle use of traditional Hindi instruments such as Tabla (the Indian drum, one of the reasons I was so in love with the drum sound) and the Sitar (you can’t have traditional Indian music without one!).
Aswekeepsearching is definitely a band to listen out for in the future, they seem to be getting better with the experience, and their back-catalogue should not be missed either!
