Chambers - A Slow Decay EP (2009)

Genre : Indie,Rock,Post-Punk,Shoegaze,Australia HMM!!
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Tracklist

1. Anniversary
2. Bone Dance
3. To Sleep Again
4. Quixote
5. Sea Mistress

On their first EP, A Slow Decay, Chambers plunge into the emotional caverns with echoing ballads and well-thought out arrangements combining pure honesty and harrowing beauty wrapped tightly in an organically musical blanket.

The Chambers sound ricochets between delayed guitars and raw splendor with songs written by men who have the music in mind. There is a real colourful exploration feel to their songs. A band experimenting with the disciplines of the art they love, drawing inspiration from the cinema to the desert, and whilst Chambers are definitely blessed with all the ingredients that many great bands have, it’s the sharp attention to musical detail that really manages to draw fresh blood.
The band carves out their own creative niche and set themselves above the tide of other bands on the indie scene today by focusing on the music rather than the noise. Every note essential, every chord important, like a well thought out poem; not a second is wasted. They do this, almost fittingly, by hailing back to the triumphs of the 80’s, with obvious tributes to Echo and the Bunnymen, Brian Eno or Ride, it’s hard to imagine that this is their first musical offering. But the real standout in the Chambers outfit is the ability to write catchy rock songs pregnant with heart and feeling.

The creative story arc of A Slow Decay begins with the slow, powerfully raw, brooding Anniversary, which speaks of the protracted rot of a relationship in hemorrhage, whilst the closer, Sea Mistress, ends the record with another sad lament. It is in between however that Chambers really manages to show off. The ability of a band to musically splatter whilst the lyrics stay focused is a rare one, but the three minute semi-western Bone Dance in particular manages to create this equilibrium with ups and downs in vocals and guitars whilst the almost Spaghetti Western feel of Quixote has a definite cinematic feel and one can almost see the song alongside a hero on a mountain top. The honesty in all these tracks is evident and whilst singer/guitarist Isaac Yeo insists the songs aren’t autobiographical, it’s an achievement that he makes them sound so real. The brilliance of the guitar and drum arrangements is that the music comes first, with the vocals often playing a welcome back seat to the strong guitar work. This is somewhat refreshing and gives the record an environmental, patient echoing feel rarely seen from most young bands.
A Slow Decay is beautifully produced, with each song knowing it’s place so that it rises and falls in the right places, the beats of each song juxtaposing against the next, an intentional yin and yang that, like all well produced releases, is transparent.

This EP is what Sydney-siders should be listening to. It isn’t opinionated, it doesn’t preach and it’s not trying to change the world one person at a time. But what it does do is provide a revitalization to young Australian music, leading by example and playing strong ballads and simply good music." - Martin Fleming, 2009