by Aaron Edwards
Outlander, hailing from the UK’s Birmingham, is one of those few precious bands whose material only gets better as time goes on. Up until now they’ve only released a few singles, and they’re doubling their discography with their upcoming 5-track EP with the same title as their new song “The Valium Machine”. It seems they’re on the right track to garner more attention for themselves, having signed up to FOMA, a small Birmingham, UK label for this captivating release.
“The Valium Machine” could be an EP in and of itself, standing proudly at 13 minutes long, a proper bookend for an album in this genre. They recorded the drums at different distances to give it a sense of movement; coming and going, as if the song is merely here to visit you. The song enthusiastically checks all the post-rock boxes and then some, boasting real songwriting chops. It seems as if the crescendos are in stealth mode, sneaking up on the unaware listener like a predator to prey. When it’s heavy, loud and boisterous, it’s beautiful. When it’s quiet, contemplative and moody, it’s sublime. Even if the album were just this song, you wouldn’t find me complaining in the least.
As I mentioned previously, Outlander has recently signed to FOMA, who will be releasing The Valium Machine in full on March 29th via your favorite streaming services.