Let's say that you're a mythical bird-like creature, a phoenix perhaps, crashing through mist and watching as the madness of natural disasters and man-made suffering plays out below. Compelled by this drama beneath, you begin to rubberneck and take a full interest in what's going on. Forgetting to flap your wings, you begin falling, out of control, relentlessly battered by the waves of your own fear. Then, just as it seems like your experience can't become anymore intense and your death seems certain, you're whisked off by a cloud to another echelon of bliss. You decide to that the best use of your time would be to document everything that has just happened. This is the result, your memoir, as interpreted by 65daysofstatic and this is the most vital, enthralling and unrelenting record of 2005.
The band's seemingly endless crusade to invent their own genre continues on this second full-length effort One Time for All Time. Written in-between their health-defying touring schedules, 65dos have produced a dark, brooding attack on the senses, whilst reaching plains of beauty normally reserved for the likes of Explosions in the Sky and their counterparts.
As the album writhes and gathers pace with opener 'Drive Through Ghosts to Get Here', the true colours of what lies ahead are gradually unveiled. Only when we reach second track 'Await Rescue' is 65days' progression accountable. The sheer intensity of the band's musical and technical prowess is projected for the world to revel in, cascading every part of their electronic orchestra around your ears and constructing immense soundscapes that defy standards or chart-humping ideals. It's impossible not to be buried under the crushing guitars and precise drumming that hold every part of your being and twist your insides until suffocation is imminent.
This is also however where the only minor criticism arises, whereas 65daysofstatic's previous LP The Fall of Math gave the listener time to absorb and reflect upon the majestic aural assault they'd just experienced via it's One Time for All Time refuses to afford such luxuries, save the the select piano-led introduction (closer 'Radio Protector' is a perfect example).
The band entered the studio to record an EP and left with a nine-track full-length laced with life affirming noise-driven journies that for the first time truly opens up the soul of 65days and challenges all to dive inside. If you've ever been even slightly intrigued by things you've read, now is the time to take the plunge and listen. Penultimate track '65 Doesn't Understand You' is the most all-encompassing, joyous piece the band have ever produced and with the overall sound now so well-honed and directly pitched, seduction is inevitable.
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9Colin Roberts's Score