Editor’s note: the below is being posted from the blog’s user for convenience’s sake but was written by David Zeidler. He’s a friend of the blog and a regular contributor over at Arctic Drones, which we urge you to start following right now. It’s an exceptional blog dealing mostly, but not exclusively, with post rock, post metal, doom and the such. When David approached us with a premiere (or two, stay tuned tomorrow) for a great post rock band that was missing a home, we were more than excited to collaborate with him. We wholeheartedly add the Heavy Blog seal approval to the below. Read on for David’s thoughts on this fantastic new track from Wess Meets West!
Since the release of their third studio album Barricades in 2015, New Haven, CT’s Wess Meets West have been on a consistent upward trajectory. An appearance on the highly-regarded Audiotree Live series in 2016 placed them squarely on many listeners’ radars. They have been further bolstered by placement in the Spotify Deep Focus playlist, as well as on programming such as NPR Morning Edition and ESPN’s X-Games. A mainstay in the New England music scene, they have often shared the stage with fellow rising post-rock act Pray For Sound, and also recently supported This Patch of Sky prior to that band’s appearance at dunk!usa this past October. It doesn’t hurt that their home base of New Haven features the highly-regarded venue The Outer Space, which consistently pulls in fantastic touring bands.
Now nearly two and a half years removed from Barricades, Wess Meets West is looking to break out further with the release of their newest album, entitled A Light Within The Fracture. The record is slated for early 2018, but we have the honor of premiering its first single, “Direct Experience.”
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 track=3663082982 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
True to the band’s form, “Direct Experience” eschews the melancholia and slow-burn that sometimes characterize post-rock artists, instead delivering a bright, upbeat take on the form that focuses on swells of emotional uplift. As the dual guitars of Sam Stauff and Nick Robinson meticulously craft layers of melody, the rhythm section of bassist Erick Alfisi and drummer Andy Porta expertly build tension, working themselves toward crescendo in multiple instances, only to wisely pull back. The patience they display in the track’s first half does a great service to the climactic rush, which soars in a way few post-rock tracks have in recent memory. It’s a true embarrassment of riches; captivating melodies and riffs intertwining and galloping toward a finish line I suspect most listeners will wish they could hold off on arriving at for a while longer. “Direct Experience” is but a taste of the grandeur that A Light Within The Fracture holds in store for listeners, but – for now – it will certainly more than suffice.
Make sure to follow Wess Meets West on Facebook, Bandcamp, Twitter and Instagram so you won’t miss out on more fantastic music.