East Of The Wall
East Of The Wall (EP)

THE REVIEW

The Postman Syndrome were born, and they rewrote the term "alternative".

In 2002, they released a masterpiece, Terraforming. The band made its way; after creating a demo in 2005 (to be reviewed soon), the six young men decided to dissolve and rise from their ashes under the name Day Without Dawn, authors of an EP.
In the midst of this turmoil, Mike Somers (drummer for Postman, no longer with Day Without Dawn), Brett Bamberger (bassist for both formations), and guitarist Jeff Speidell created this band, East of the Wall, whose EP has just been released.

Let's say one thing right away. This EP is not an earthquake like Terraforming was: there are more evident influences of post-rock style: Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Explosions in the Sky above all. Yet, the sound and melodic component also recall, at various moments, the dearest maudlin of the Well.
However, it might seem obvious, but the greatest influence is precisely them, the Postman Syndrome, with that melodic taste that is not progressive, not alternative, not psychedelic, not post, but is everything singular and essential.
An album of rarefied and delicate atmospheres, superbly orchestrated in the minimal simplicity of the guitar/bass duo. Unlike what often happens in more recent post-rock works, there is no constant search for a forced slowness - on the contrary, the drums give an excellent technical performance and show the greatest similarities with the Postman - nor is there a continuous use of the same, now somewhat predictable, melodic lines.
Unmatchable the concluding pair III-IV; it starts with a very maudlin-esque acoustic digression that then intertwines with open and dreamy arpeggios, and a solo background reminiscent of Opeth. A slight feedback then begins, with a background of drums leading to an explosion, interplay of arpeggios, melodies, distortions, a heart-stopping guitar, and beyond.

In conclusion, a well-crafted EP, half an hour well spent. An interesting band, which interestingly shows an interesting way of presenting itself innovatively in front of post-rock.