Eleventh He Reaches London

CD of the Week
by Patrick Perrier

…and hallowed be their song

It’s a rare and joyous occasion when a completely realised and original album reaches the public’s collective ears, and that is exactly what Eleventh He Reaches London have done with Hollow Be My Name.

Without exception, every track on this album flows seamlessly into the next with an almost opus-like quality, and when listened to in its entirety, it conveys more than just notes and words. Indeed, beneath the expertly performed and recorded musicianship sits an undercurrent of undeniably riveting emotion. From a more traditional standpoint, Eleventh He Reaches London combine three guitars, bass, synths, keys and banjo in an almighty conglomeration of post-hardcore, doom, country, indie and everything in between. For a simple comparison, Eleventh He Reaches London have the ability to channel Modest Mouse, Murder By Death, Johnny Cash and Isis within the breadth of one song, and then back it up all over again on the next track with a few more influences thrown in for good measure while still retaining their own unique sound.

Put simply, this Perth band of musical miscreants has created a masterpiece that the world needs to hear.

5 stars


- Rave Magazine (Brisbane)

CD of the Week
by Tristan Broomhall



This ambitious second album from this Perth five-piece has been eagerly awaited for some time now. Following from 2005's well-received The Good Fight For Harmony, Hollow Be My Name is an entirely different album to the prior, and that's what anyone who's watched the band gigging for the past few years would expect. Creative arrangements and instrumentation keep the listener on edge from start to finish, along with a loose and ambiguous narrative theme touching on Australian convict history, imperialism and existentialist musings.

Immediately striking to the listener is the marked improvement in Ian's vocals, not that they weren't top notch to begin with, it's just that he's found more range, different voices, and the vocal arrangements as a whole are especially visionary on epics like Girt By Piss and For The Commonwealth And The Queen, the latter switching from angst filled screams to spoken verses with great effect.

This record was a long-term project for the group and it shows in the quality of production, the talents of engineer Al Smith matching those of anyone of international veneration. From the drums of the opening passage of Hollow Be My Name and the obvious attention paid to picking and perfecting the guitar tones for each specific application in the arrangements, it's a thoroughly well thought out record. The triple-guitar interplay between Ian (sometimes picking up the banjo too), Jeremy and Jayden is as frenetic and immaculately contrived as ever with the added flourish of keyboards and samples topping off a landmark progressive work.


- The Drum Media - Perth

CD of the Week
by Scott Fitzsimons

"I'm allowed to curse him / If he's the one that built me / I'm allowed to use his fucking name in vain."


Perth's Eleventh he Reaches London are angrier than ever, as illustrated in that line taken from the pinnacle chorus in opener and title track of this second album, Hollow Be My Name. Lasting exactly one hour, this is a scathing examination and attack on heirachy and the status quo, to my ears the best studio album release of the year so far.


Having moved away from the over-saturation of down-tuned guitars, Hollow... proclaims a brilliant maturity and progression in the band's songwriting. Mastering dynamic and space, the album is often delicate, usually heroic and always incredibly forceful. The anti-God, anti-government, pro-life sentiments gel with their sonic counterparts in spectacular fashion, to the point where I'd describe their sound as protest rather than the tempting progressive dark rock.


This is not for the faint of heart, nor fans of the monarchy or those who shy away from discussing death. Too confronting to be public advocates for the republican movement, Eleventh He Reaches London are likely to remain in an underground and isolated condition. A suitable outcome seeing as that's what spawned these songs, but also a grave injustice as they're some of this nation's most accomplished songwriters.

"Oh I'd love to burn the Union Jack/ And never grieve again." - The Drum Media - Sydney

RTR FM 92.1, 17 April 2009


by Joey K

Everything about the new album from Eleventh He Reaches London reeks of meticulous attention to detail, from the stunning cover art by Seldon Hunt (who has previously provided artwork for the likes of Neurosis and Earth) to the dense production courtesy of local sound guru Al Smith. ‘Hollow Be My Name’ was apparently recorded and mixed over a long period of time, rather than the get-in-get-out rush job typical of many local releases, and it really shows. This is an album that has been carefully crafted and reveals a band who are not only creatively rich but also clearly very ambitious.


The evolution from their debut release ‘The Good Fight for Harmony’ is massive. They traverse a wholly unique landscape that is musically modern and progressive yet thematically harkens back to another time, namely the early years of Australia’s invasion by the English. The impossibly bleak and totally fascinating lyrics detail imperial oppression and colonial hardship against an unforgiving backdrop of barren earth. The language and folk songs of the time are blended with a modern vocabulary to create a hyper-reality of old world desolation that somewhat strangely brings to mind the world of television’s Deadwood, albeit with a very Australian bent.

Thankfully, the music is every bit the match to the lyrics, having expanded exponentially from their powerful but relatively straightforward early hardcore/metal style. Enormous walls of noise give way to delicate melodic passages, distorted guitar gives way to banjo picking – this really is a strange, beautiful beast to behold. Post-hardcore? Art-metal? Folk-metal??


Forget trying to pigeonhole ‘Hollow Be My Name’ and instead celebrate its eccentric, evocative originality. Eleventh He Reaches London stand among a select few heavy bands trying to do something really different – and fewer
still who actually pull it off.


Keep fighting the good fight, lads.
- RTR FM (www.rtrfm.com.au)

Taking the stage a little later than they were supposed to, Perth-based Eleventh He Reaches London started with I Am the Bearer, I Stand in Need to many shouts and whistles. Tonight was the first time they were playing material from their new album, Hollow Be My Name, in Melbourne. Everyone was stoked. For the Commonwealth and The Queen silenced the crowd, beginning with the delicate sounds of the guitar, and then quickening the pace. As the last song on the album ended, the band seamlessly launched into the first song, Hollow Be My Name.

The band’s energy rippled out through the room, there was not one person in the crowd who stood stock still during the set. Along with the songs from the new album, Eleventh also threw Swarming from The Good Fight for Harmony into the mix, pleasing both new and old fans. Engaging the crowd is one thing, being able to bring them through so many emotions in one set is another. And Eleventh achieved that without seemingly any sweat.

Ranging from folk-like, quieter tunes like Son, You’re Almost An Orphan to passionate, chaotic songs like Britain and Structure, everyone was entertained from start to finish. To put it simply, it fluctuated between auditory peace and mayhem. If this band continues writing and performing music like this, they will almost certainly be at the top in no time.

http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/18344/Eleventh-He-Reaches-London--Old-Bar-Melbourne-08052009.htm - Faster Louder

Rising from the secluded city of Perth, Australia, Eleventh He Reaches London are breaking all the rules with their first full length album, Hollow Be My Name. After releasing their stunning EP The Good Fight For Harmony in 2005, they decided to delve deeper into experimentation, taking their loud, distorted blend of post-rock and screamo to new heights, breaking the shackles of genre that often restrain bands. Hollow Be My Name doesn’t need to be classified; it stands alone as an original piece of thought-provoking art.

Hollow Be My Name points the finger at figures of power, throwing blame at the government, God, and the father figure for the protagonist’s desolate, depressing life. The title track kicks off the one-hour onslaught of anger and misery, a slow drum beat setting the pace. Vocals begin as almost spoken word, but as the song picks up, the sombre voices break into a definite rhythm. The song continues to build as the vocals turn to anger, and lines are filled with loathing, “I’m allowed to curse him/if he’s the one that built me/I’m allowed to use his fucking name in vain.”

The basic structure of the title track is followed throughout most of the album, rising and falling like the sighs of impatient men trying to vent their frustrations to the listener. However, this seems to be the only dormant aspect of an ever changing sound, with each track exhibiting its individuality, its own worth, and the vast array of influences which helped create this unique album.

The vocals are a real standout throughout the album, particularly the range that is delivered throughout the album, from guttural screaming, spoken word, and the rhythmic wavering vocals resembling the likes of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, such as those in "Toorali." Not only the vocals, but the lyrics are outstanding. Eleventh He Reaches London simply don’t hold back. If they have something to say, it’s been said in this album, without mercy or a second thought.

After listening to the whole album, thinking each song was going to be the peak of the album, I noticed it never fell away. There is an intensity delivered through the slow, droning guitars and unorthodox vocals of Ian Lenton. Instead, the epic closer ‘For the Commonwealth and the Queen’ becomes one of the most memorable songs I’ve ever heard, and is probably the main reason I listen to this album repetitively. It escalates to a chaotic scene of screams, thrashing guitars, unrelenting bass and pounding drums, only to end with a beautiful post-rock style anticlimax as the instruments drop off, leaving the speakers empty and the listener reflecting on what just breached their ears.

From start to finish, Hollow Be My Name is a near infallible work of art. It’s thought-provoking, unique, and will hold the test of time, as although several of the songs make clear references to the past, its meaning is still relevant now. It's albums like this that can open your eyes to what music should be: passionate, creative, and ever progressing. - absolutepunk.net

It's almost redundant to label WA's post-everything kinds Eleventh He Reaches London "epic". Because it goes beyond epic. Hell, maybe it's even post-epic! I've been sitting with Eleventh's idiosyncratic record Hollow Be My Name since its release back in March. Its cerebral and layered, like a cryptic crossword. Eleventh He Reaches London can't humanly be classified into a musical genre because they attack their songs at so many different angles, with different sounds, with different influences. Ian Lenton possesses this dark, melodramatic vocal timbre that renders upon their music an eerie darkness. Their songs threaten to conflagrate, but they never do: instead, they hold onto their tension, which makes Eleventh He Reaches London sound even more eerie.

'Oh, Brother' is the next single from Hollow By My Name, a song that's simultaneously dark and poetic. In a similar vein to The Drones and Kill Devil Hills - whilst sounding nothing at all like those bands - Eleventh articulates a post-colonial darkness within their music. It's the sound of a culture struggling to come to terms with its convict, racist past in this democratic present. It's a darkness that boils just below the surface. And it's what attracts me to Eleventh He Reaches London: they allude to concepts, to ideas, but they always leave you guessing. They leave you wanting more. And that's the sign of an excellent band.

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/homeandhosed/blog/s2596847.htm - Triple J Radio