Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"SEA are intelligent, experimental, loud and quiet, dramatic and understated all at the same time" ROCK SOUND
"Small Enclosed Area offer straight-to-the-point, aurally pleasing rock songs but they cram in the dynamic elements of bands like Tool, Pearl Jam, Deftones and Sense Field" INDIGO FLOW
"Crunchy and Melodic emocore, top quality for those that love and remember bands such as Sense Field and Far". COLLECTIVE ZINE
"Small Enclosed Area are responsible for a passionately articulate racket in their own right" WHISPERING AND HOLLERIN'
"Not only are Small Enclosed Area good musicians, they have an inventive and original approach to songwriting, there is a dark, claustrophobic intensity to their music which twists and turns through a knotwork of influences" NORTHERN SCOT
- Various
"SMALL ENCLOSED AREA"
"QUINTANA(EP)"
-Label: ' HACKPEN"
-Genre "Rock" - Release Date: "3/3/0/3" - Catalogue No "HRP002CD"
Our Rating: New single no 1
At W&H, we've already had our collective ears pricked up by the Hackpen label via the mighty CAYTO, but now they're at it again with another ace discovery from north of the border, namely SMALL ENCLOSED AREA.
SEA are a bunch of wonderfully powerful, tune-stuffed reprobates who hail from Elgin from the far north of Scotland and "Quintana" is their debut 4-track EP. Apparently, its' release has been delayed for a few months due to some nebulous hiccup, but thats immaterial. Any time is a good time to get acquainted with SEA.
"Samoflange" leads off, making it immediately clear that SEA are good with both dynamics and atmosphere. The track bursts to life with no-nonsence chiming guitars reminding of early Chameleons and vocalist Keith Milne managing to be edgy and soothing at once. The whole thing get wrapped up in a huge confessional frenzy and the guitars lead it to a lengthy conclusion that no-one wants to let go of.
"Left Unsaid", though, is the most direct, damning thing here. Proffering a hookline of "All alone in the darkness", the urgency and heaviosity in the guitar department is palpable. "Veil Of Diffidence", by comparison, takes its' time to unravel, initially sounding like Six by Seven at their creepiest, while the weight of the world sits heavily on Milne's shoulders. His lyrcis open with "Falling into a world of confusion, walking into the ambiguous..." and the whole caboodle's all the more effective for taking a good couple of minutes to explode, before being reined in temporarily to let all the aural guns eventually start blazing. The melding of darkness and energy reminds this writer of one of his enduring heroes, Adrian Borland. Favourably, I hasten to add.
"Confined",meanwhile, supplies the crescendo you know must come. Milne sings': "People say I'm being awkward, but I have my reasons" before the guitars and Stuart Russell's mighty drum clatter smash into your conciousness. Music with this much obvious passion requires a necessary conclusion and the squall that leads out provides a suitably conruscating climax.
Though not as refreshingly diverse as their labelmates CAYTO, SMALL ENCLOSED AREA are responsible for a passionately articulate racket in their own right. I doubt they'll be fenced in by obscurity too much longer.
author: TIM PEACOCK
- Whisperin and Hollerin'
Metal Only - Swedish Magazine (translated)
Small Enclosed Area Quintana 6p (2002)
hackpen records, import
Five Scotsmen from Elgin have coined these songs. My envy feels no boundaries, Elgin is the epicentre of Scottish flowing culture. small enclosed area was formed in 1991 when the members were still in school. The band name refers to the fact that they feel that they live in a wee and rural place. According to the info sheet they've made a name for themselves because of their guitars and that may well be the case. Apart from that they hover around pearl jam-territory on the metal scale. Vocalist Keith Milne has a really good voice while guitarists Richard Marshall (who also sings a bit) and Blair Fraser, bass player, Ros Fraser, and drummer Stuart Russel pass without complaints. They do especially fine in the calmer "Veil of Diffidence" and the rocker "Confined" As always with shorter offerings I'm restritive on the mark but small enclosed area can surely contribute to the Scottish export (as the distilleries around Elgin). If they return with a full-lenght album of this calibre I`ll raise the mark!
Miggo
Track list
Samoflange
Left Unsaid
Veil of Diffidence
Confined
- Metal Only - Swedish Magazine
AUBL
I've had the Small Enclosed Area EP, Hackpen Records Split EP (North:South Divide - which features live favourite "Somebody") and a promo copy of all the tracks that feature on them for quite some time now so I've had ample oppertunity to listen to them - and I have many, many times!
Now if you were impressed when you heard the quality of Liber8's EP then you'll be just as impressed by the quality of this recording (as it was done in the same studio - which would explain why wouldn't it!)
The opening track Samoflange has a mellow and fairly gentle intro which gives you a good idea what Small Enclosed Area are all about. It's got the whole Rock Anthem sound to it which makes you think of them playing to a big crowd at a festival or something.
Technically you can't fault SEA at all and it would be very difficult to be negative about this EP too. You can say "this is not really my thing" all you want but you could never deny the fact that this is a different class.
The pace has been set for the rest of the EP and as Samoflange gets into it's final straight there's a beautiful build-up that crashes straight into track two Left Unsaid. It's an explosive intro to one of SEA's shorter more powerful songs. It bounces along very nicely indeed. There's also a gem of a riff at the end that you could never get tired of hearing! :)
A few minutes later and your into track three Veil of Diffidence which starts with a slow, reflective vibe with jingly guitar work and (as with any of their songs) brilliant vocals. We're given a quick moment of Rawk before the track slows down again and gears up for a yet another big build-up and finale complete with guitar solo!
Confidence brings us to the final track on Quintana. There's a funky intro that eventually rocks out! which is always good to hear I think and, after a brief moment of more chilled out bits there's a race to the finish line. Guitars and Drums are flying around everywhere which is just great - and you know it would be a treat to see all of that live too!
If they keep writing songs of this quality then I think it'll all be good.
So basically what I'm trying to say is that if you dont go and buy this then you'll be missing something very special.
Sometimes I think that maybe SEA need to rock out more and maybe be a bit harder and more "RAAR" but then that's never really seemed to be there style and you can't argue with the quality of this release or the quality of SEA themselevs.
Draw some comparisons to Tool 'especially the drumming' I was told by my flat mate. So there you go. I have!
Still sitting there?!
Go and buy this right now!
Small Enclosed Area Quintana - 5/5 - Aberdeen Ultimate Band List
Discography
North : South Divide - The first release from Hackpen records showcasing 4 bands, live favourite "Somebody" was included from Small Enclosed Area
Quintana - The band's debut Ep released through Hackpen Records.
"A Taste Of India", "Bomb Alaska" and "Samoflange" were played live on Radio Scotland as an Air session for Vic Galloway.
Seventeen Whiskies - The second SEA ep released by the band themselves in late 2004, the track "Taste of India" was picked for the Make Tracks CD by Channel 4 Ideasfactory which represented the cream of Highland & Islands talent (featuring acclaimed artists such as Mylo & Mull Historical Society) and was released on the cover of Musicweek magazine on 24th January 2004)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The name was chosen due to the feeling of entrapment one feels from living in a wee town in Scotland, isolated from the rest of the world.
They began playing music together influenced by a wide range bands from the "outside world" such as Tool, Far, Mogwai, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Thursday, Hundred Reasons, Tori Amos, Symposium, & Idlewild.
As a result of increased attention, The band released their debut ep "Quintana" through Hackpen Records on March 6th 2003, which recieved airplay on Radio 1, Radio Scotland, Beat 106, Moray Firth, Northsound 1, and even Radio Celuido in Spain.
Not to mention "Quintana" charting in student music stations across the country - including Imperial College in London (holding the No 1 slot for two weeks), Stirling, Cardiff, Leicester, Loughborough and Wolverhampton.
Good reviews where recieved from "Is this Music", Swedens "Metal Only", AUBL, Artist Choice.
Small Enclosed Area have been on 2 UK tours, with the final gigs ending in London, at Bull & Gate, and the Underworld, the band also have energy sapping sporadic dates around the country, where they have to drive for most of the day to get there and back to Elgin.
Other gigs of note include playing at the Go! North Festival in Aberdeen where they had one of the biggest crowds of the week, and also were voted as the best band of the weekend by the Aberdeen gig go'ers. Source www.aubl.net
In 2003 they where picked from over 480 demos to play T in the Park. Where they had one of the biggest crowds over the whole weekend on the T-break stage.
In the run up for T in the Park, Small Enclosed Area were asked to play a live session for the Radio Scotland show "Air with Vic Galloway" who is a self-confessed fan of the band.
Recently the band performed at The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen along with fellow T-Break band RAAR to promote their latest EP "Seventeen Whiskies".
Small Enclosed Area were also recently played on the Selector programme which is broadcast to 38 countries on FM and sponsored by the British Council and appeared on "suBURBan Legends - Scotland" Compilation Album, run by British Underground Rock Bands (www.burbs.co.uk)
With a tour to promote the EP currently being booked and the track "Taste of India" also was picked for the Make Tracks CD by Channel 4 Ideasfactory which represented the cream of Highland & Islands talent (featuring acclaimed artists such as Mylo & Mull Historical Society) and was released on the cover of Musicweek magazine on 24th January 2004, and at the Midem music conference at Cannes the same week).
Small Enclosed Area are gearing up to make 2005 there best year yet.
To buy the cd online please visit www.novacomix.co.uk
For enquiries and bookings please contact our manager Steve Robertson 07762 892118, email@smallenclosedarea.com or visit www.smallenclosedarea.com
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