In these times of digital revolution, darkness and depression, 'We Were One', the debut album by Columboid, is our saviour. Shattering orthodox approaches, their brand of brooding anthems are a cross between the heightened awareness of Nick Cave and the darkly sexy, throbbing keyboards and twisted party-times of TV On The Radio. There's an air of the lost, and unfortunately forgotten, Add N To X as well - an unholy alliance between music and technology. Columboid are forging their own path, creating a soundtrack to the apocalypse. The lyrics echo this - a stream of consciousness that reflect Ryan Hamilton's (Keys,Vocals) abstract approach to writing - open to interpretation at both the birth and death of life itself. In January of 2009, Neil Benjamin and Ryan Hamilton stepped into a basement in Queens, New York.
Without having a sense of what the music would sound like or who would be playing what instrument, they almost immediately created their first song, 'Statehoarders'. It became the precedent of chemistry that Columboid (named before the first practice) would establish and a full set of dirty primal-synth new wave minimalism followed suit. After an initial stint as two-piece, Hamilton (Keys,Vocals) and Benjamin (Drums,Vocals) soon added Russell Higbee (Hamiltion's PA childhood friend, ex-Coyote band mate, and main Man- Man) on Bass. No strangers to all things DIY, they recorded on Benjamin's laptop in December of '09 and released the songs as their debut cassette tape, Cruise on your Own. Their first proper studio recorded release 'We Were One' is set for release, naturally, by La Société Expéditionnaire.If 2011 does welcome the end of the world, I know what I'll be listening to as we go down - We Were One is the battle cry, a clarion call into the ether offering hope and good times. That's all we can ask for. The band includes past and current members of Vaz, Man Man, Lewis & Clarke, Coyote, Holy Fallout.
Without having a sense of what the music would sound like or who would be playing what instrument, they almost immediately created their first song, 'Statehoarders'. It became the precedent of chemistry that Columboid (named before the first practice) would establish and a full set of dirty primal-synth new wave minimalism followed suit. After an initial stint as two-piece, Hamilton (Keys,Vocals) and Benjamin (Drums,Vocals) soon added Russell Higbee (Hamiltion's PA childhood friend, ex-Coyote band mate, and main Man- Man) on Bass. No strangers to all things DIY, they recorded on Benjamin's laptop in December of '09 and released the songs as their debut cassette tape, Cruise on your Own. Their first proper studio recorded release 'We Were One' is set for release, naturally, by La Société Expéditionnaire.If 2011 does welcome the end of the world, I know what I'll be listening to as we go down - We Were One is the battle cry, a clarion call into the ether offering hope and good times. That's all we can ask for. The band includes past and current members of Vaz, Man Man, Lewis & Clarke, Coyote, Holy Fallout.
TRACK LISTING
1. Guy Got Kilt
2. Ijnar
3. Route Notes
4. Working Stiff
5. Statehoarders
6. The Abhor
7. The Contradiction
8. Jacklord
9. Shortfax