Monday, July 25, 2016

Karoshi - Antera




Karoshi are a four-piece from Vicenza, Italy.  The group plays (mostly) instrumental post-rock that tends to shy away from crashes and builds, instead giving each instrument an equal voice and steady accompaniment to each track.  That being said, they don't necessarily re-invent the post-rock wheel, but their debut full length 'Antera' is a nice piece of post-rock that stands out with their dabbling in sampling and not really accentuating any one instrument or tone at a time.  Drab and slow vocals are featured on the second track in an effective mix against running drums and bright sounding guitar, followed by the third track which introduces keys seemingly foreign from before.  This blending is really their debut's greatest strength -- none of the four tracks sound anything like one another, and to their credit, they give each styling justice and character.

The band's name (the Japanese word for death by overwork or exhaustion) is very fitting to their sound -- like a thirty minute train ride staring out the window at things moving too quickly to comprehend.  Something like that.

You can also download their first EP 'Maizena' for free from their Bandcamp.