Music - Part 9 - Archive

I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of Archive.  This surprises me as they’ve been going for 18 years! 

I’ll be even more honest when I say that With Us Until You’re Dead is an absolute cracker.  I’m hooked, and, can see that I’ll want to investigate them even further.

Intrigued by the Press Release describing them as “Part-orchestral, part-electronic, part-soulful, part-progressive”,  I know exactly where that description is coming from.  This album is haunting, it has soul, it has real passion.  Three years in the making and it’s easy to see why.  Archive clearly don’t rush things and there’s a reason for that – they make songs that are perfected.

I’ve spotted several members taking lead vocal on this album which adds a great deal of depth and intrigue.

Violently (my personal favourite) and Hatchet, the lead singles from the album,  remind me of Recoil’s Luscious Apparatus from the Unsound Methods album.  Tracks that start from something simple and grow and grow and grow into crashes of sound, throbbing basslines and immense voices. 

Their debut album, Londinium, was apparently regarded as a trip-hop classic with Peter Gabriel known to be a huge admirer, but, they’ve remained somewhat unknown in the UK.  In fact, With Us Until You’re Dead, is their first album to obtain a UK release despite them being superstars across Europe.

It’s a very diverse album, helped by the multitude of vocalists.  The vocals on Damage reminding me of Jon Anderson, and, Things Going Down of Kate Havnevik.  Well, that’s my opinion anyway!  In fact, so diverse is the album, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that it’s a record label sampler showing off several artists.

I can see some comparisons to Soulsavers’ recent album, The Light The Dead See too.  Epic songs, crafted with love, crafted with precision, crafted from the heart.  I can hear, Massive Attack, Radiohead, Royksopp, Depeche Mode, Genesis and maybe a bit of Otis Redding?.....   I’ve watched a clip of the making of the album on YouTube and it’s fascinating.  The Supersonic Symphony Orchestra feature, and, Archive are clearly people who live for their music.

If I’m totally honest, I’m slightly stuck for words.  If, like me, you’ve never heard of Archive, all I can suggest is that you check out this album.  I love it and have got some serious catching up to do with them!

Oh, and I love the album artwork too!



Published on Louder Than War 5/09/12 - http://louderthanwar.com/archive-with-us-until-youre-dead-album-review/