>
And so it’s come to pass: we’ve done post-punk and post-rock! Now the logical conclusion to all this posting has come to pass: the Post-Band. So puzzle over EP Island, a ‘recording project’, a ‘non-band band’,

So who’s (not) in this (non) band? Well, blame LL Schulz, Lyn Heinemann and Melanie Covey for all this genre-warping. Tired of band practices, gigging and all the other distractions that fill a musician’s time, they struck on the idea of a band that forms only when they want it to, and only writes and records in this time too.

It’s a clever side-step back to basics – revisting the reason people form bands in the first place: togetherness defined by intense creative bursts. And the results are similarly retrograde – a satisfyingly gnarled sound, the sense of urgency, the spirit of creative outpouring, and, in Broken Social Smoker, a corker of a song.

EP Island – Broken Social Smoker

John Lennon once said that the best songs were written, recorded and released within a week. He was on to something. Broken Social Smoker bears all the hallmarks of sudden craft, quick thinking and melodies from the depths. Perhaps it’s just Christmas cheer, but surely this is a lovely song, from lovely sources, with lovely sentiment.

Having sampled the delights of the post-band, it’s time to pause and reflect on where things will go now. Any pleasures that will be derived from (hopefully) an inundation of quickly-written, recorded and released records might be dampened by rebellious post-post-bands, who try to slick their production up to Duran Duran standards. Who knows?

But this will be the last new (kinda-) band of the year – inevitable End Of Year Lists will appear tomorrow! Celebrate! Or Flee!