|
Media:
THE ROOTS OF ORCHIS reviews
--
THE BIG TAKEOVER
This dynamic four-piece evokes ethereal hymns of barren glacial vistas and elite social collectives. Marching through a quagmire of somnambulant specters, The Roots brave common market consumers, common law scenesters, and common chord progressions, intent on bringing us uniquely identifiable works; to the average listener, this effort may adjust their receptors and fine-tune ones awareness, thusly causing greater alertness or sensory overload. Smooth guitars sweep across deft oceanic drifts, undercurrents of backwashed samples float by in uncorrupted streams, mellifluous low end E string rumbles coast along the shorelines serenely beckoned towards the tide, and you find yourself awakening from dreams youve never had. Nice.
--
TIME OUT NEW YORK
Roots of Orchis's new self-titled record is full of mellow dub-influenced instrumentals as well as the occasional menacing rock-oriented tune.
--
METRO PULSE
The Roots of Orchis' ambiance is created with a blend of instrumental and electronic. Quiet, elegant guitars pace the sound, while electronic effects weave in and out of it. They sound like a more subdued, less urgent version of Godspeed You Black Emperor!
--
THE PORTLAND MERCURY
The Roots of Orchis have a musing and bittersweet sound, with songs that slowly progress from plaintively lovely to deliciously full and harmonic. They exhibit patience in their songwriting, but you won't get bored - you'll get melanholy and thoughtful.
--
SYNTHESIS
The Roots of Orchis, a quartet formerly enmeshed in San Diego's hardcore scene, is now and up-and-coming player in the avant indie-jazz scene (think Tristeza and Oma Yang). They infuse their brand of indie-jazz with oddly beautiful bass harmonies, grand guitar chord scapes, lush keys, and drums that anchor the whole sound. The band was initially conceived as a high school senior project, and they haven't looked back yet. Their first album, the Red House in Winter, instigated an ongoing tour schedule, and a recently released, self-titled, four-song follow-up EP has begun to create a buzz of its own.
Something in San Diego is causing all the emo and hardcore kids to put away their distortion pedals. Luckily, theyıre still playing music, only itıs been slow downed a notch or two and the focus is put on melody and layers. Repetitive bass lines roll over a cushion of keyboards, guitars pluck out simple, yet beautiful, melodies and the drums are just sharp enough for head bobbing. Roots of Orchisı self-titled EP suffers from just one problem: itıs too short, only four songs. Forget that bouncy, poppy, 230 bpm techno-crap, this is trance music music to close your eyes and groove to.
--
FAKE JAZZ
The guitars and keyboard shift between providing quiet ambience to the occasional burst of melody. The use of noise on this EP is very powerful, providing the grooves the band locks itself into with some purpose by muddying the sound with a wall of sonic love.
--
MISTER RIDICULOUS
This 22 minute ep radiates with a quiet intensity that thrills me in the same way that Godspeed You Black Emperor! and A Minor Forest effect me (without really sounding like either of those bands). Music that you can totally lose yourself in and find yourself having to relinquish control.
--
LOST AT SEA
I may be overly optimistic at this late hour, but I have a hunch that this band could bring a lot of people together by combining technicality with subtlety and jazzy post-rock with modernism and dub/hip-hop. When the Roots of Orchis succeed in riding out their desire to mimic the post-instrumentalist movement the rewards are immense.
--
GEEK AMERICA
Little did i know that i wouldn't stop spinning this disk for well over a week, only to put it in again after listening to some other stuff for review. Roots of Orchis are a band out of San Diego that i have unfortunately never seen. Now i'm wishing i had seen them years ago so i could say ³I knew about them when...² Ah, but better late than never, right?
--
EPTIONIC
San Diego's Roots of Orchis create a gentle, cool wash of instrumental sound by borrowing scraps from rock, jazz, dub, and even classical. It all seems a bit odd out of context, and the group makes the music odder still by employing multiple bass players and percussionists on a few tracks. Keyboards, guitar, and percussion all vie for primacy while the deep warm bass anchors the mix and burbling electronics dress the whole thing up to create a beautiful, complex body of sound.
--
ILL AND ALICE
The Roots of Orchis' sound is indie with a major deconstructionist jazz leaning. I can't think of any band to compare them tothey have a very original sound.
--
BASEMENT-LIFE
The record closing "Please Call 874-2420," is a song that takes the four-piece's sound to a new level, incorporating a much thicker groove and some trance inducing hip-hop beats. Even some unexpected concepts like samples and scratching make their way onto the track, adding not only a great tune, but also to the credibility of Roots of Orchis' abilities to take their experiments as far as possible.
|
