I love premiering music from all kinds of bands. New, old, heavy, not so heavy, happy, sad, you name it; introducing people to more music is one of my greatest callings in life. However, I must admit that I opened that list with my favorite type of bands to premiere music from: new. Now, assigning that adjective to Dutch Elm is not a simple affair. The band have been around since 2016, playing shows and making music in their local scene in Newcastle. But sometime this summer, they will be releasing their debut, full-length album. Plus, I haven't heard of them before and nor have my immediate social circles (except for, of course, good friend Trent, who covered them back in 2019). So, they're new. But more than that, they're also very good.
Operating in the vein of energetic, momentum driven post-rock that I love so much, Dutch Elm makes music that lends firmly in that good sleepamakeswaves / And So I Watch You From Afar territory. And if that doesn't make you instantly click play below, I don't know what will. Get to it!
This track has all of the trappings that make a release in this space valuable, most importantly a great balance between atmospheric, contemplative passages and more energetic, explosive moments. This isn't "crescendo-core"; it's a more interesting and varied piece of music. Sure, it finds catharsis in its heights but those heights are not simply at the middle and end of the track. Instead, there's a much more interesting dynamic between them and the rest of the instrumentation. And the quiet parts are not just filler either, but rather cleverly constructed to keep the listener engaged.
Throw in an incredible cool riff at the end of things to usher you out, production that sets all of these sounds off just right, and some hard-hitting drums to boot, and you've got everything you need. Click on above to their Bandcamp to stay up to date with the band as they near their summer release; this is going to be a fun one!