REVIEW: Labradford - Prazision LP

8.75 out of 10

Find it here.

My lungs are expanding and contracting, my lungs are expanding and contracting..

I've only been listening to Labradford for a few years now, but within those years I have become obsessed enough to go out and buy the entire Labradford collection. This is Labradford's first album, as well as "THE Droney/Ambient/Post-Rock/Avant-Garde/Etc. Label of ALL Label's", Kranky's, first official release. Prazision set the standard for what many indie rock acts have been attempting to do for years now. And over 15 years later no one has even come close.

Prazision begins with a twitchy guitar loop melting over frozen dead ambience. When listening to this album you may feel slightly claustrophobic. You are now stuck in Labradford's world. Which at times can be stunning and gorgeous, but at other times can be sad, dismal, post-apocalyptic, and cumbersome. Track 2, "Accelerating On A Smoother Road", gives you a good idea of what kind of Slow-Core vocals you can expect from Labradford. Their a one-note/chord kind of band, with some simple strumming, "clunky" machine-noises, synths, and altered guitar loops. But it's the layers underneath that you need to focus on with this band. Some of the synths/drones are familiar to other Kranky releases, check out Pan American (which is actually a Labradford member doing his own thing) for a decent example, but some are unique in their own right. "Gratitude" is the best idea EVER for giving thank you's. And possibly one of the crowning achievements of this record.

You might listen to this band and think to yourself this is good ambience, but I've heard it before. But what you need to remember is they were doing this 15 years ago. Ahh, to be a wee lad growing up in Richmond VA. circa 1994...This release may not be for everyone out there. But for anyone interested in a band who started one of the most interesting era's in independent music history this should be on the top of their priority's list. This is a good soundtrack to a walk down a dirty beach covered in "futuristic" debris. File this under "Indie-Drone-Ambient Slow-Core".

Standout Tracks: Accelerating On A Smoother Road, Splash Down, Disremembering, C. Of People, New Listeing, Gratitude