 
A split EP is a grand way to check out new bands for a budget price and, especially when both bands turn out to be excellent (as is the case here), both bands and fans alike can get a great deal from such a project. Bringing together two post rock bands, Labirinto and Thisquietarmy, this particular EP offers up eight tracks in total (three from Labirinto, four from Thisquietarmy and one random burst of unaccredited noise sat in the middle) and music fans keen on expanding their collection of atypical music releases will find much to admire from both acts.
Labirinto kick things off with ‘Tahrir’, a track that opens in a haze of static and slowly evolves into a piece of fragile beauty. Recalling the atmospheric work of Pelican, Ulver and Mogwai, Labirinto impressively take from these bands without sounding like them and the result is a track that shimmers and darts in the light, not least as a result of the cello and violin which appear to sweeten the sound no end.  Following the effervescent glory of ‘Tahrir’ is the similarly epic ‘Diluvium’- an ethereal work that carries with it the aura of mystery so commonly associated with bands that eschew vocals in favour of gentle melodies and occasional bursts of surging guitar noise. The band’s final track is ’11 Palmos’ which opens in an echo chamber, the slow guitars caught between the sweeping melancholy of Low and the progressive might of David Gilmour, cleverly weaving together to slowly build a towering edifice of art-rock noise that draws the listener into a trance before concluding on a metallic tsunami of noise. It’s an impressive introduction to the band and certainly one that will appeal to fans of the likes of isis, Red Sparrowes, Neurosis and Mogwai.
Following a short burst of noise, Thisquietarmy appear with ‘Eclipse’. A quieter effort than that of Labarinto, Thisquietarmy deal in the swirling noise of Sunn 0))) and the sun dappled ambience of Jesu. It’s a very different beast to what has gone before, emphasizing a stately elegance washed over with wave after wave of enchanting static. The music absorbs you utterly and before you know it you’re into the heat haze of ‘paths to illumination’ – the perpetual fizz of guitars guiding you ever deeper until you reach the programmed percussion of ‘world protest’, an inferno of distorted noise and digitized beats that recalls the ambient wrench of Fuck Buttons as much as anything else. The final track, ‘abandonment’ is a dark-hearted conflagration of echoing feedback that recalls the obscure Steven Wilson side-project Bass Communion and it provides a suitably enigmatic conclusion to the EP.
Overall you get two excellent, if rather different bands for your money with this EP. Labirinto are more conventionally post rock, with a familiar quiet-LOUD structure that still manages to sound fresh thanks to the addition of some unusual instrumentation and excellent song-writing skills. In contrast Thisquietarmy are a noise project whose subtle dynamic shifts are kept carefully hidden behind walls of noise and distortion and who most aptly recall the works of artists such as Axis of Perdition. Both acts, in their own unique ways, are worth hearing and the disc comes housed in a handsome digipack that bears the artwork of TQA’s Eric Quach (who deserves a mention because it looks great). Well worth hunting down if you have a taste for the unconventional, I will most certainly be looking forward to hearing more material from both bands.
Did we get it right? See for yourself with this handy player!
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