I was very happy and a little shocked to see notice of an upcoming tour by Chicago shoegaze band Airiel, and that they would be stopping in Philly last Friday, May 26. I hadn't heard anything about them for years. Way back around 2007 I got their album "Battle of Sealand". The music grabbed me, locked me in, and soon became one of my favorites. .... But for some reason I haven't seen anything about them in the intervening years. It seemed like they hadn't been doing any shows, and there is a gap in the dates of the music on their website, or was it that I was just not on the right emailing list?
I bought my ticket as soon as I read the announcemeent and went to Kung Fu Necktie for last Friday's show. The place was packed.
"Battle of Sealand" is quite eclectic, containing a number of styles, bordering on different genres. I have a few favorite tracks on the album; "Mermaids In A Manhole" is one of them. The way the band did this album, each piece has its own personality means each stands out solidly as an individual work, and doesn't become lost in a large list of music with similar sounds. In my opinion it's very difficult to pull off something like this, but Airiel did it successfully. Complex instrumentals always pull me in, and this track's definitely got 'em. Also, a complex relationship is in the works with lyrics that take us out of bounds of what we normally hear, and instrumental melodic lines and tempo that push forward an undeniable feeling of ... . Here is "Mermaid In A Manhole", the sixth track on Airiel's album "Battle Of Sealand" :
Stylistically this album is different from most of the band's others, but it happens to be my personal favorite, maybe because it was the first one that introduced me to Airlel's music. If anyone from the band ever reads these comments, I think they might cringe. ... because I'm saying nice things about the album and I don't think they themselves favor it. Indeed in their new 20th Anniversary album package, no songs from this album appear to even make it into the lineup. Go figure. ... But you can click through the image above to find all of the band's work to judge for yourself. In the meantime, with their big tour having been completed this past weekend, here is the click to the band's Facebook page where you can find out what they'll be doing in the future. ::: Airiel on Facebook (CLICK HERE). (p.s. ... go back and listen to the guitar solo starting about 3:52 on the clock).
(pic is from the band's Facebook page)
