After the Weather

Sometimes you find goodness in the strangest locations. Whether it's a random message board post, passed nonchalantly in a conversation, or in this case, tucked in a folder on your hard drive. Apparently, in September I download the debut EP from Montreal’s After the Weather, and despite my good intentions it seems I forgot about it. Not the best start to a musical relationship, but that is my fault not theirs, as the band is doing everything right when it comes to getting noticed. They are making good music and giving it away for free.

It’s pretty obvious that front man Matthew Hills grew up listening to early Radiohead and Muse - I know. I know. Who didn’t and who the f*ck cares right? – but the songs on their EP are bursting with energy. The guitars are moody and atmospheric, but still carry a rawness with them and are balanced nicely by the stellar bass lines that Rob Helsten delivers. If the vocals and guitar are the heart of After the Weather, Helston’s riff and fills are the soul. The guitars and harmonies on Jyoti Found Herself In A Horrible Mess grab you, but it’s the head nodding bass that explodes out of your headphones that keeps the track moving.

In a weird sort of way, the maturity and restraint the band shows throughout this EP is the most remarkable aspect. After delivering a floating, Buttless Chaps inspired collage (Aliens) and the infectious Jyoti, Hills spits lyrics over the meandering bass line of Shark Song. At countless points during the first three songs, you expect the band to explode into a heavy, surging, static filled cloud. Instead, they keep the reigns taught, building anticipation as you wait for the chaos to take over.

The sequencing drives the EP forward, letting the band flow perfectly into the heavier, more experimental tracks that dominate the last half of the EP. Charles Manson is a Saint and effect filled ...And Montreal was Gone pick up the pace and get you more entrenched in the record and by the time the band gets to the swirling 12-minute closer (Welcome to Safe America), you are ready to listen to whatever they have to say/play. That being said, I’m not sure the collection of musical thoughts and sonic exploration works as well on record as it would to in the middle of a set, but it shows that these Montreal natives are probably ready to burn down a stage.

http://www.herohill.com/2009/01/reviews-after-weather-ep.htm - Herohill.com

I regali non finiscono mai, sempre più band decidono di farsi conoscere (o pubblicizzarsi ulteriormente) distribuendo i loro lavori in download gratuito o quasi tale. In questo caso vi parlo della band di Montreal After The Weather e del loro omonimo EP di debutto scaricabile, appunto, gratuitamente. Di che genere di musica si tratta? Pensate ai Muse e ai primi Radiohead, quel mondo lì. Sei canzoni energiche che ruotano attorno a voce e chitarre elettriche. Voce sofferta, a tratti malinconica, e chitarre che riescono ad essere melodiose, quando serve, ma anche ruvide e graffianti con i loro riff. E poi c'è il basso che si insinua, facendo ottimamente la sua parte, anch'essa di rilievo. E così ci troviamo davanti canzoni come "Jyoti Found Herself In A Horrible Mess" o l'iniziale ed eccellente "Aliens" o ancora l'atmosferica e più oscura "Charles Manson Is A Saint". Insomma, il lavoro è molto buono; non vi resta che scaricare l'EP ed ascoltarvelo per giudicare.
Questa la lista dei brani: - nuovamusica

The first thing to mention is that when a band takes the time to individually label and do the artwork on their discs, you should know they’re passionate. And passion is beauty when it comes to music, and it’s pretty apparent from beginning to end in this case.

I don’t know how you feel about three piece Montreal-based bands, but when they sound like this I’d sell my soul for a full length album. After The Weather comes out running pretty god damned well with their unofficial, and debut EP (for now only available from the band during their live shows). And wow, if you think that you’re hearing Matthew Bellamy (a la Muse) or Thom Yorke (Radiohead clearly) well then you should probably join the rest of us because Matthew Hills does such an outrageous job on the vocals for the entire duration of this album you’re not really going to know what to do with yourself.

“All my friends are aliens and all my reasons are my own”, simple and powerful, and the strumming patterns that he laps on over top really add to the dynamics of the song. It continues in variations for the rest of the album, he pulls out all the stops on tracks like “Jyoti found herself in a terrible mess” and “Charles Manson was a Saint”. The other two members of this three piece; Rob Helsten on bass and Trevor Zaaverda on percussion do a very good job of rounding out the sound to near perfection, or at least near perfect harmony.

My only quarrel with anything on the album is that the band sounds really restrained. Now this can be used to their advantage as most of the time I really felt in the next ten seconds everything would just drop off the charts into some prog-quasi-grunge cacophony, but seldom happens, the notable occurrence being the outro for the last song because the band seems to get off on teasing me with their held-back sound orgy that I know they validate with live performances. The band rides a wave of “just about to crash” the whole duration and I found myself wishing for some over the top theatrics at one point but even with the whole album sticking to the same tonal patterns there’s nothing bad to be said about how they do it.

I think I’m just a hopeless romantic to hear some jaw-dropping breakdowns because the band presents itself as one that is very capable of such feats but the sound they make totally works for them. Though to be fair on a couple of songs the guitar work does reach the levels that I hoped to hear with use of some serious effects and harmony as in on the last minute or so of “Montreal was gone”. They’ve got a boatload of control over what they play, and tracks like “Charles Manson...” really makes me wish that Rob Helsten and his bass were a woman so I could do unmentionable things to them, though it’s probably better for everyone involved that it isn’t the way of things. Every single track has a signature Helsten lick that you’re not likely to forget anytime soon. If you get a chance to see these guys live, you should go do it without a second thought. Maybe with a little more time and financing they’ll force themselves into everybody’s’ aural space and make the name for them that they are absolutely entitled to.

Score: 8.4

- Kade Davies

http://www.twowaymonologues.com/reviews/after-the-weather/after-the-weather-ep/
- Two way Monologues dot com

9pm at Rancho’s I was ready to hear After the Weather, which was quite appropriate name for what I endured on a rainy muddy day at Downsview Park. After the Weather is from Montreal so you know they are going to be good. I am just enthralled by all the talent that Montreal has to offer. Some of my favorite bands come from the great French city that wants to leave us. But whatever, that is another story, because tonight Montreal was with us. After the Weather was best described in the NXNE booklet “if you like bone chilling sonic punk opera”. Seriously I can’t say it any better then that. The drummer loved to hit those drums so hard that at one point I swear he was going to lose his arm through his drums. He did lose his seat and wound up on the floor at one point, almost taking out the curtains and NXNE banner on stage. The singers voice reminded me of a young Jeff Buckely very hypnotizing, very sexy. Meanwhile the bass player would chime in with some yodeling or opera screams that at first was like “what the hell?” but whatever, it totally worked. Great performance by all. - NxEW

After the Weather
By Flashing Lights and True Love (independent)
After the Weather make “psychedelic power pop,” they say, a reasonable assessment of the eclectic rock on this impressive but imperfect sophomore release. One track shimmers like early ’90s shoegazing, another is just a few bong hits shy of reggae, yet another revels in lean blues angst and several songs find the local trio rearing their (early) Radiohead. 7/10 Trial Track: “It’s Too Loud” (Lorraine Carpenter) - Montreal Mirror

After the Weather
By Flashing Lights and True Love
By Jessica Lewis

First, this album is best listened to in close proximity or through ear-covering headphones. Second, this record should be appreciated for its long, drawn-out simplicity. There's nothing overly "oh my god, I'm going to run-around my neighbourhood screaming this band's name" about it but the complexity in the simple notes is the key. By Flashing Lights and True Love is a constantly morphing listen; one minute you're walking down the street and witness hundreds of pigeons flying in figure eights and the ascending guitar slides on "It's Too Loud" perfectly coincide with the visual beats the whites from under their wings make, the next the monotonous yet annoying drones of clones on the public transit system are completely drowned out by the music. It's hard to miss the Radiohead influence but it works for After the Weather. By Flashing Lights and True Love is an epic experience that needs to be lived in, from the see-saw of mumbling chants, catchy pop and guitar shredding in "Thoughts Make a Widow on a Plane Over Tofino" to the surf riff in the thrilling "My Communista and I." - Exclaim

Track-fu, January 6, 2008
"After The Weather - Aliens

We saw After The Weather put on an impressive New Year’s Eve set in Montreal just a few days ago. I liked this song when they played it, and I like it again now, particularly the chorus. They remind me a bit of earlier Radiohead, slightly more acoustic." - Two-Way Monologues- Toronto

...Montreal's After The Weather are an amazing band to see live, especially if you're into lightning fast musical licks. They're a three piece, consisting of three very impressive musicians creating a cool sort of prog-jazz-fusion type of sound. Matthew Hills is the lead singer and guitarist, and watching his fingers fly across that fretboard is nothing short of astonishing. Rob Helston's bass duties are very prog-like, reminding me a bit of Geddy Lee before Rush got all boring and stuff. And Trevor Zaavedra is the drummer with mystique, who had no problem keeping up with the advanced time signatures that makes After The Weather so unique. I'm looking forward to seeing them return to Toronto sometime in the near future. - It's Not the Band I Hate, It's Their Fans