Old Worlds
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Old Worlds

Columbus, Ohio, United States | SELF

Columbus, Ohio, United States | SELF
Band Rock Avant-garde

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Local Roundup: Old Worlds"

Old Worlds is a post-rock band through and through, dealing in (mostly) instrumental songs that are journeys with a beginning and an end, but with an unpredictable, non-pop structure in between.


The trio’s new EP, Such a Willful Creature, explores the prettier side of post-rock, with shimmery, harmonizing guitars that ebb and flow Explosions in the Sky-style.


Aaron Sturgill, who began Old Worlds as a solo outlet, does grab the mike from time to time, and when he does, it’s a nice complement. Sturgill has a solid tenor with tone reminiscent of locals like Jon Chinn or Miranda Sound’s Dan Gerken.


Now, if you’re dealing in lush soundscapes, it pays to have them recorded in a way that clearly captures all their subtlety and grandiosity. Though the songs are nicely composed, Old Worlds didn’t go that route. It’s not lo-fi, but Such a Willful Creature still has the feel of a demo. I’d be curious to see how these songs would sound when fully realized in a pro-studio setting.


Still, there’s enough good stuff here (particularly the leadoff track, “Stick With Your Friends”) that I’ll be sure to keep up with what’s new in Old Worlds. - The Other Paper (Joel Oliphint)


"Locals Only: Old Worlds"



Aaron Sturgill had a vision, and he was going to realize it with or without the help of other musicians. So with all the trappings of a rock band and a load of loop pedals, he started making moody instrumental post-rock under the name Old Worlds early last year.

"People have asked me why I choose to work so strictly within a given genre, and it's because that's exactly where my heart lies," Sturgill said. "I don't see myself doing anything else."

At first, Sturgill would play all the instruments on stage, building drum and guitar loops into cyclical symphonies. Pulling off something so elaborate was nearly impossible alone; fortunately, friends Mike Poston and Brian Maxwell bought into the Appleseed Cast-inspired approach and soon joined on drums and bass, respectively.

The trio frequently deployed its math-y riffs and epic buildups around Columbus last year, sounding like a more melancholy take on the finger-tapping fury of locals Six Gallery or a cerebral cross between Explosions in the Sky and Minus the Bear.

They hoped to use technology to sound much bigger than a three-piece and time-honored classical composition tricks to chart a rise into hope from despair.

"I want the songs to end happier than they begin," Sturgill said. "I want the songs to help people not get lost in the music, but to find some kind of emotional resolution."

The first proper document of that effort is "Such A Willful Creature," a four-song EP set for release Saturday at Rumba Cafe. The pristine recordings are a better fit for this sort of music than the scrappy demo they distributed last year, though "Creature" is only a step toward Sturgill's ultimate goal.

"The next project is the one I've been looking to do my whole life," Sturgill said.

The band hopes to head into Central City Recording to record a full-length later this year once they've saved up some cash and edited down their vast backlog of songs. In the meantime, Old Worlds will embark on several regional weekend tours throughout the spring and summer. It's all very purposeful for Sturgill, who feels like he wasted a lot of years being unfocused and unruly.

"I wish I had gotten a foothold on becoming a local musician at age 20," Sturgill said. "Now I'm 28 and I know exactly what I want to do."
- The Columbus Alive (Chris DeVille)


Discography

Self-titled live demo (August, 2009)

Such a Willful Creature (EP) (May, 2010)

A Light in the Corner (LP) (June, 2011)

Our first single, "Stick With Your Friends", is in regular rotation on an NPR-affiliated internet radio show.

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Bio

Old Worlds was formed as a solo project, with Aaron Sturgill crafting intricate layers of guitar harmonies, then drumming and singing with them. Brian Maxwell and Mike Poston joined in early 2009, and we played about sixty shows in and around Columbus, Ohio. To date, we have released a 4-song demo, and a 4-song EP called Such a Willful Creature.

Drawing from post-rock and proto-emo influences such as The Appleseed Cast, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, and Mineral, we tread the line between ambient shoegaze sound-scapes, and minor-key hooks and meandering melodies.