Long Division
Norfolk, Virginia, United States | SELF
Music
Press
...Long Division’s music feels: the drums create the boundaries of the solar system, and the three guitars and bass are skipping through the ether like four rocket ship space dolphins, leaving streaks of bright orange and blue exhaust in their wake...
- Altdaily
It makes a change for a new band to decide that their bio should actually be a bio, rather than have a bunch of superlatives about how they are crossing the bridges between genres and are about to explode etc. blahblahblah, all in an attempt to try and get noticed. Long Division mention their influences (Explosions In The Sky, Minus The Bear, The Appleseed Cast), state they formed in the winter of 2009, and that they wrote, recorded and then released their debut album "Calm Before" by the May 1st 2010. Why aren't more young bands so modest?
It has six songs, clocking in at 35 minutes long. In terms of sound, it's something between post-rock and math/indie rock. They take an energetic approach which gives them a youthful edge - which lead me to math/indie rock, but they are entirely instrumental, and are cinmatic in doing so, which of course leads me to post-rock. Like most music of this ilk, the guitars are key; they are the focal point of the songs. They hint towards the glorious, occasionally coming very close, but are often found to be too simple, and as a result, your attention to the songs may waver.
The first three songs are the strongest, most confident, and are evidence enough of their potential. "New Fragile" doesn't so much crescendo as gradually introduce the instruments under relatively relaxed guitars; "Alone In Space" has some nice vigorous drum work, which gives a greater up-tempo vibe, adding evidence to my "energetic" tag earlier. "Summer Storms" begins with some decently-executed post-rock riffs and horn-parts in the lull, but takes heads surprisingly into something more 'noisy' - which serves them well.
As mentioned, this is entirely vocal-less, yet some songs just sound like they were intended to be used with vocals. Their absence is particularly felt in the second half of the album. The final three songs are longer than the first three in order to compensate the more spacious post-rock direction is takes, but, they aren't there yet instrumentally to pull off such grand soundscapes.
It's commendable they've managed to write and record this such a short time, you can't help but notice the obvious flaws. But hey, this will be a part of a learning curve for Long Division, and probably a part of a bright future. The first half of the album in particular is worth checking out. [7]
- Rockfreaks.net
see podcast - Your Music Show
See video - The Horn
"....elements of their songs and snapped the audience’s attention back to the stage." - University Of Mary Washington
"...Long Division brings an energetic approach to an established idiom and is worth a listen" - The Silent Ballet
Spacious jams for those sprawling summer days - The All Music Blog
Featured in podcast for website dedicated to up and coming post rock bands
- farpastpost.net
Discography
CALM BEFORE - MAY 1ST, 2010
Tracklist:
1. New Fragile
2. Alone In Space
3. Summer Storms
4. Forgotten Generations
5. Mutations
6. Building Rebuilding
--------------------------------
Photos
Bio
Long Division is a five piece instrumental rock band from Norfolk, Virginia. Incorporating a wide variety of influences, people have compaired them with such bands as Appleseed Cast, Minus the Bear and Explosions in the Sky.
The band formed in the early parts of Winter of 2009 when co-workers Wesley Bunch(guitar) and Doug Nicholson(guitar) decided to form a band and began playing with a couple of new friends. Those friends were CJ Weil(bass, trumpet) and his life long friend Andrew Lane(guitar). After having issues finding a permanent drummer, the band was contacted by Joel Parker and Long Division finalized their line-up.
In the late Fall and early Winter of 2009 Long Division went into Clay Garden Studio in Norfolk, and recorded their first record entitled, Calm Before, after some delays the album was finally released on May 1st, 2010 on CD and Digital formats. They are hoping to release it on vinyl in the near future.
Links
