Boasting just three tracks and yet clocking in at around thirty-five minutes in length, ‘Out of the cold’ is the debut album from five-piece band Ogmasun. Recorded back in November 2014, the album appeared via Cold Smoke records in 2015 and (via the vagaries of the music industry) found its way to us now. Still, time should never get in the way of good music and Ogmasun are very, very good indeed. Digging into the same rich vein that Mogwai mined on breakthrough release ‘young team’, Ogmasun juxtapose delicate figures with towering riffs that threaten to overwhelm the listener with all the crushing might of a tsunami. That the album was recorded live only adds to the raw power of the music, and ‘out of the cold’ adds yet another chapter to the storied genre of post-rock.
Opening with the aptly titled ‘Mammoth’, Ogmasun set out with graceful guitar figures and haunting ambience. It is not long, however, before the mood is rent asunder by vast surges of synth-enhanced noise that crash into the listener with vital force. Arthur Fragniere’s synthesizers are utilized to maximum effect, chaining together the rattling guitars of Martin Maillard and Pierre Tinguely, whilst Pierre Gumy’s bass and Cyril Ruegsegger’s frantic drums are the rhythmic core that keeps the whole band from veering off course completely. A longer track, ‘Square’ emerges from a stoned hazed, all slithery riffs and throbbing bass, only for Martin and Pierre to layer guitar upon guitar, building up a solid wall of sound that threatens to engulf all in its path. Here Arthur’s synth take on a more crucial role, as they draw the track away from what may be seen as a more traditional post-rock sound towards the progressive beauty of mid-seventies Floyd and, as the band pour ever greater waves of sound into the mix, so the track expands its scope ever wider. As the track progresses mountains rise and fall, continents move and jazzy interludes sweep across our view. It is reminiscent of the early days of Pelican, and it never sounds anything less than inspired. The album ends with the fourteen-minute epic ‘Cutty Sark’ which drifts out of a digital fog that drifts across the listener’s boundaries of perception like an exert beamed in from the Orb’s early work, before the band slowly drift into sight, the throbbing bass of a John Carpenter soundtrack appearing first, only to be replaced by some beautiful, nuanced guitar work that is far more layered and nuanced than that found elsewhere. It can’t last, however, and when a sparking riff blasts the mood to pieces with brutal, Tool-esque precision, it hits home with real force. There’s so much more, though, and the band lead the listener on a lengthy journey that explores frazzled art rock in the vein of Sonic youth and even haunting, classical piano, all of which only adds depth to an already complex and endlessly fascinating track.
Ogmasun are one of those rare bands trying to push the boundaries of post-rock a touch further than their peers and the result is a wonderfully inventive record that sounds like Pink Floyd’s ‘Atom Heart Mother’ tooled up and looking for blood. Gloriously progressive and filled with interesting diversions whereupon the band lead the listener down dead end pathways and into secluded spots, ‘out of the cold’ comes highly recommended. 9
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