On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 20-10-2013

Looky looky I made it out on a Sunday. What are the odds? After trying to convince myself over some brews at closeby that I had more important things to do, I just couldn’t say no to a little Sunday evening heavy instrumentals courtesy of Illness Sickness who were releasing their brand spanking new self-titled EP – cue the crusading cymbals and epic unveiling.

Far from the sweaty dance-a-thon that Mao Livehouse partakes in, tonight was all about mood, and Illness Sickness provided that in spades, along with lush indie rock duo 16 mins. and electro rock outfit Cassette. Check it out.

The chemistry between Sindy and Robin, the duo behind 16 mins. is undeniable. They’re on the same wavelength and it shows. And while a part of me wishes they could fill in those gaps with other players, it’s hard to complain where just a voice and guitar and elicit such raw emotion.

Making great almost surgical use of the empty spaces between every note and chord, this is sensual tensioned filled music that’s gonna make a big splash one day.

Speaking of big splashes, I’m been digging every piece of new material from the electro rock quartet Cassette this past year – their sultry cabreatesque electro rock sounds fresh in every sense.

And though their drummer was noticeably MIA tonight, the band managed to hold onto their sleek trip-hop atmosphere throughout their set.

The goods are there, I think it’s high time Cassette get their faces out into the public eye again and hone in their live set skills.

However, the evening was Illness Sickness’s, as the post rocking heavy hitters brought forth their latest EP release and gave audiences an earful of vivid soundscapes to get lost in.

I simply love how easily the group can switch from their metal tendencies to something more serenading, like this little gem, seamlessly.

And special props to the cellist/keyboardist, who brought some nice touches to the music, which simply elevated the compositions to soundtrack status. And as much as that soundtrack could lean toward some rags to riches football story, I’m guessing these guys would prefer soundtracking a Viking warrior’s plight into hell. As one of their song titles points out, this is anything but post rock.