THE POISE RITE

If Interpol had been born in Poland and were more gothic they would sound like this.

'Passagalia' which is released for download in the UK is the third studio album from the Polish rock band, The Poise Rite, The band formed in 1997 in Rzeszow and relocated to London in 2003. Overall theirs is a gothic sound which lends itself quite easily to bands like Placebo.

Track one 'Getting Old,' could be a Polly Harvey track were it not for the male vocals and it has the heart of Joy Division. 'You know the night I left you I saw death in your eyes,' Bartlomiej Zaborowski warbles. 'Keep On Trying' is a galloping missive about melting the ashes like Icarus flying to the sun with a building riff that they seem to have borrowed from U2's 'I Will Follow.'

With the dominant percussion and discordant riffs of 'Rock and Roll,' we are more in Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Territory. The muffled vocals on 'Never Enough' make the song sound like Queens of the Stone Age jamming with Bauhaus. 'Take You Back' is like The Longcut at their most majestic and funereal.

The single 'Kill the Pain' starts like pure Interpol then segues into a sensitive melodic instrumental which underlies the singer's quite bombastic lyrical delivery. The next track features brassy crescendos that reminds me of mid period Spear of Destiny and ends with an extended saxophone piece. 'Tea, Peace and Wealth' demonstrates their divergent styles perfectly. It references the Beatles directly by starting with 'I read the news today oh boy,' before breaking into a harmonica solo and then settling on a slightly folky sound. The album ends in bleak atmospheric post punk mode.

The Glastonbury Leftfielders are a promising embryonic talent who produce nicely crafted song structures. They mix the light and dark by means of clever riffs, intense bass lines and variant vocals adding harmonica and brass parts where you least expect it. Music's incumbent prophets of gloom better watch out as this band of eastern European pretenders are hot on their heels.

By: Mandy Williams - www.subba-cultcha.com By: Mandy Williams

The Poise Rite are an exciting new rock band, just starting to edge their way through into the British music scene. They formed less than two years ago in Rzeszow, Poland. Their self-titled debut album takes a firm grip on the ladder of music, and with some backing should hopefully help them up a few rungs. Despite there being only eight songs on the album, there is enough in this 33-minute plastic circle to give other so-called ‘rock’ bands a run for their money.

These guys don’t mess about with one-minute openers; the album bursts through your speakers like an egg through a blender with the stunning ‘Unaccustomed’, a great way to open the album, and contains so much power and emotion behind the song. This is succeeded by ‘Follow Me’, which will appear rather Bravery-esque upon first listen. A bit repetitive after a while, but a basic but lively guitar part at the end draws it to a conclusion. ‘It’s Gone’ is a rather dark song, but lacks the power that the opening track held. ‘Underground’ is a rather odd song, as it seems to be one big crescendo, starting with soft guitars, before everything else gets involved and continues to build.

‘Unnoticed Thought’ may cause a bit of a jump with a cry of “A noticed thought seizes the body!” at the beginning, but once that’s gone it’s into a building riff, before breaking into the main song. This song epitomizes the entire album; constantly changing between soft and heavy rock. The bridge seems to be forever building up to something, and indeed once it is over, it is followed by about a second of silence, a swift bass movement before hitting the heavy notes again, and collapsing on some radio static and footage. Just a hint of funk in that bassline, too! A powerful song on the album, and arguably the highest point of the album. ‘Believe’ carries on this theme of dizzying speeds and styles, changing the song pattern often. ‘Dance’ may not work as an album-opener, but would make a very good concert-opener; with it’s clever mingling of lyrics to the combination of the walking bass line and offbeat drum patterns. The album climaxes on ‘One Day From The Future’, containing clever guitar riffs and strong vocals – a great way to close off the album.

The Poise Rite are just getting into their music, but their doing it the way that works – writing down their thoughts. Their album should make good listening for any fans of strong bass lines, intelligent guitars, pronounced vocals, and dominant drumming. It’s for those who like their songs fast, possibly not the best album to root for, but certainly worth a listen. Try putting Placebo, At The Drive-In and Queens Of The Stone Age in a blender, and then add a hint of Poland and you’ll have yourself something not too dissimilar to The Poise Rite.

The Poise Rite will be in London in October, playing at the Astoria on October 8th. They will be supporting fellow countrymen KULT, and will be kicking off their Autumn/Winter tour in London. (Doors open 18:00)

If anyone can hop along to that show, The Poise Rite will have it in them to hopefully blow you away with something you may not have heard fully before. Failing that, their debut album is released soon. If you can’t wait, and want to sample some songs, the official The Poise Rite website has audio available at www.poiserite.com

It may just be worth keeping an ear open for these guys. They might just be bursting into the scene soon. - www.rockpulse.co.uk by Jon