public

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Get Groovy With Part Two of Childspeak’s Indulgent Endeavors

There are few things I love more than when I receive an e-mail from a band who have followed our work here enough to understand the kinds of things we

5 years ago

There are few things I love more than when I receive an e-mail from a band who have followed our work here enough to understand the kinds of things we like and then deliver with more of just that. For Eugene, Oregon’s Childspeak, that thing happens to be the beautiful sweet spot existing between instrumental post-rock, math rock, and prog. The band are about to release their sophomore LP, Indulgent Endeavors, and they have been making the intriguing (if a bit unusual) decision to preview and premiere said album in two halves with accompanying video. The first half of the album is already out through verified good website Echoes and Dust, and today we are pleased to present the second half of the album!

Note: The video contains some fast-cutting and moderate strobing that could be a concern for those at risk of epileptic seizures.

The thing I most appreciate about this strand of math and prog-infused post-rock is that it always comes down to an exceedingly satisfying and deeply-pocketed groove, and the music throughout Indulgent Endeavors is no different in excelling in just that. Similar to other bands existing within this sphere like And So I Watch You From Afar, Arms of Tripoli, Afformance, In Each Hand a Cutlass, The Physics House Band, SEIMS, and others, Childspeak excel at luring listeners in with sweet and satisfying riffs, motifs, and rhythms while continually tweaking and throwing compositional twists in to keep the music constantly dynamic and prevent the listener from getting too complacent or comfortable at any given moment. The comparisons to ASIWYFA are probably the most apt as the band deftly combine the same kind of bright, more conventionally math-y atmosphere and textures with hints and pieces of more ominous or aggressive elements lurking underneath.

That is most certainly true as the album’s second half kicks off with the noodly “It’ll Happen,” which starts off with just that kind of light math riffing and gradually swells into even denser and darker territory. “KJR” picks up the baton and turns up the proggy weirdness as it descends further into more menacing progressions and grooves, only to move into full-on spaced-out prog jams in “Fillet, Move On.” And album closer “Endearing Endeavors” attempts to split the difference through stark divisions of more serene resolution and jagged prog. There’s a whole lot to chew on and process just in these 21 minutes, but fans of the genre will find more than enough to give it all time to sink in. Combined with the equally-impressive first half, Indulgent Endeavors is an expertly-executed example of post-math  rock in action.

The album is dropping this Friday, March 8 through Waipea Records, and you can pre-order it right now through Childspeak’s Bandcamp!

Nick Cusworth

Published 5 years ago