Vypin Island, Kochi alt/prog/post rock act Kaav released their self-titled three track EP this month. I can see why the band waited so long to get the right drummer. Syam N Pai and Shabeer Ali’s masterful guitar-driven soundscapes deserved an exemplary backbone. The entire EP eventually turns out to be an expansive aural seascape.
Building up and exploding are some of the defining, characteristic attributes of post-rock, and we see that happening on every track here. However, Kaav does this without becoming atmospheric or airy, their universal appeal is built around their simplicity of sound. Their music is driven by unpretentious riffs splayed out over unhurried tracks. Baiju Dharmajan’s (Motherjane) brilliant production ensures this islandmade EP is easily on par with the like of tracks like Oceansize – ‘I Am The Morning’. This band has an ingrown sense of heritage, and their music’s grown straight out of it without them having to make a conscious effort, which distinguishes them from bands who unnecessarily try to force in “Indian elements”.
There’s something maternally calming about the beginning of the nine-minute final track ‘Kettukatha’ (which means ‘made up story’) laden with sparkling harmonics. And then without you realizing, it thunderously builds up and breaks into a sample of Malayalam schoolchildren (talking about a fight breaking out in the High Court, with lawyers and the prime suspect getting hurt, possibly quoting from a newspaper article) over jazzy drum rhythms, crashes to a halt and carries that riff into a Porcupine Tree-esque distorted, overdriven segment. The tranquil segments are so reminiscent of ‘If These Trees Could Talk‘, just with added local flavor.
The second track ‘Psyche’ starts with a building sonic seascape which bursts and collapses into a display of primal drums. True to prog rock fashion, strummed layers are added on halfway through and make for a pretty decent listen. The album opens with the track ‘Daya’ (which was featured by Coldplay), and after that video you can’t really help but visually associate it with time lapses of sand running through your fingers, stop motion shots of serenely stretching shorelines, and moments full of lens flare on the beach. With all the energy of Porcupine Tree on ‘Wedding Nails’, the catchy song powers through and keeps listeners hooked.
Every song on this three-track EP builds and collapses into serenity and builds and collapses all over again, structured like waves breaking on Kochi shores. We’re definitely looking forward to the full-length album.
Indiecision: B+
Coming up: an interview with Kaav guitarist Syam N Pai, stay tuned!
Twitter
Facebook