New Electric

In lots of instances, a lot of what a record has to say to you is completely in the music alone. Music is meant to speak to people without lyrics even being involved, as cheesy and "emo" as that might sound, it's entirely true. And New Electric's self titled debut album isn't just speaking, it's screaming. Though only four songs, every track on this record is extremely textured and layered with sounds spanning the spectrum from heavy rock to intricate indie rock to jazz influences. There's nothing about this record that could be considered standard, unoriginal or "generic". It is four musicians playing for themselves and writing things that make them happy, and not only do I respect them for that more than I can explain to you, but I think what they have produced is quite great. I had a discussion with a friend of mine earlier today about often times, the most important notes in a song are never played, and that you need to know when it's appropriate to play what notes and all that. New Electric has all of this down to a science. Seriously, if you're into experimental instrumental music, BUY THIS RECORD. - RiseandRevolt.com

Instrumental quartet New Electric is one of those rare cases, a gelling of academic musicians who still come off as spontaneous.

They tear it up with virtuosic madness on their four-song self-titled debut. The collective of guitarists Anthony Pirog and Brian McBrearty, drummer Liam Hurley and bassist Oscar Rodriguez apply their jazz school upbringing to frazzled string enchantment and noodled, cement-shoed rhythm.

“Surf” seemingly gets its name from its “Wipeout”-style bookends, while mondo, ice-picking riffs bristle over dogged drumming in between. The prickly atmospherics continue on “Don’t Send Me Home,” a workout laden with tempo shifts and aural fireworks that sounds surprisingly wholesome. The dense and bruising “Bananarchy” boosts the pace and ups the temperature with scorching conflagrations and rubber room solos.

The exhilarating finale is the seven-minute “Circus,” a thrill ride of clamoring, peripatetic guitar slabs fusing any and all hardcore strains with abstract colorations, “War of the Worlds”-level bombardment and an abrupt conclusion to a hazy stomp.

New Electric channels some of rock’s most impressionistic creators with its high-brow antics, concurrently fit for appreciation and sweat-soaked fury. Who says you can’t be studious and instinctive at the same time? - Indiana Journal Review

According to the press release all four members of New Electric studied jazz at college – its not hard to tell at times.

New Electric are not, however, pompous musos who go on free-form tangents. Instead this band create instrumental rock that soothes, challenges and plainly rocks, often all at the same time.

The beauty in these four tracks is the way in which they constantly evolve riffs and ideas – with no riff being overplayed – yet consistently make each section flow effortlessly into the next. Clearly masters of their craft, New Electric evoke the spacier moments of Cave In’s Jupiter record, but then weld that to structures and playing that sometimes brings to mind artists such as Don Caballero and Dysrhythmia . But New Electrics dynamics and solos mean that this is always rooted in heavy/classic rock, making this band somewhat of a tuneful, unique proposition.

It will be interesting to see how this band evolve and sound over the duration of a full length, of which one is due next year from this band.

8/10 - The Communion.co.uk

I would suppose that it would get old to play technical-jazz influenced rock all the time (although that theory is shot to hell by Ian Williams). And it was after the demise of their former band (Rolo Tomase) that Liam Hurley and Brian McBrearty decided it was time to flex their musical knowledge in a different way. Instead of focusing on the technical, they (along with Anthony Pirog and Oscar Rodriguez) have made the move to the broad world of instrumental post rock.

Now before you write them off as another Explosions in the Sky knock off, or some foursome trying to emulate Pelican (because honestly, the genre is that wide right now), let me put your mind at ease… they’re not. In fact, even though the line up of two guitars, bass and drums might have you thinking that they are just going to be derivative of a million bands and not worth your time, gives you even more of a reason to check out what these guys are up to.

Four songs grace this twenty-minute EP, spanning the gap between the post rock Mogwai laid down on Young Team and the guitar rock bands like Navies are bringing back. It’s full of energy and (something almost completely lacking from the genre thus far) fun. They’re head bobbing tracks that have strong melodic hooks and real emotion behind them.

Basically, look at it this way. At their shows, instead of everyone holding fast to the typical post-rock-show-stance (ie – head down, hands either in pockets or folded across chest, slight rocking back and forth much like a drunk/mad person), people would be jumping around pumping fists in the air and smiling.

Besides the entire EP being a kick ass ride, the closing track, “Circus Metal”, is really close to being considered my jam for the summer. It busts in with a dark, sinister off-time riff (hello, Jesus Lizard) and barrels through until the wheels come off and it crashes into a foggy corner of lingering feedback and broken melodies. I’m telling you, it’s this close to earning that title straight away (although I couldn’t tell you what other tracks it was competing against).

So here it is, the debut EP. I love it, now get me a full length before I wear this CD out. - Indieworkshop.com

Twenty minutes’ worth of instrumental bliss from this fourpiece who’ve apparently brushed aside their jazz studies in the name of some more immediate rock action. Starting with the ballistic clatter of Surf before stretching out into more thoughtful territory with Don’t Send Me Home’s From Monument to Masses-style melodic groove, New Electric have set up stall and wormed their way into the back of your head before you’ve even realised you were supposed to be bored with this whole instrumental lark. Over the course of this twenty-minute taster they’ll pull you this way and that, by turns smothering you with languid grooves and shaking you out of your seat with spiralling guitar ejaculations, making sure there’s more than enough for fans of Fugazi, Mogwai and Don Caballero to pick over and unravel until their full-length comes together. - Collective-zine.co.uk