Earthless - Live At Roadburn
Tee Pee Records

4/5

San Diego trio rock the Dutch with an inspiring set at Roadburn

A good while ago I received a CD through the post which had such extremely boring artwork and a name I had never heard of. Being so busy in the past few months, this CD got lost in my list of many things to do, and only a few weeks ago I gave the disc a spin to give me my first impression of what I was reviewing. It's around this time that I found myself tantalised for well over an hour, completely absorbed by what I believe is some of the best instrumental music I have heard in sometime.

I love myself a bit of post rock. Some I listen too just to try chill out and others just to feel the hair stand up on my neck. This, however, is something you can't just turn on for 10 minutes then turn off. This album, a live recording of the bands headlining slot at Roadburn Festival, contains two discs with one song on each, one peaking at 47 minutes and the other 35. You're either in it for the long haul or you can forget it.

The music this trio deliver in 'Live At Roadburn' is nothing sort of great. For over 80 minutes this band churn out a concoction of groovy basslines, intricate guitar work and relentless drumming, and not one minute in this album do you find yourself getting bored. The guitar work oozing from Isaiah Mitchell's instrument is impressive throughout the whole listen. At certain moments in this album I find his fretwork beyond brilliant, perhaps 'Blue/From The Ages', around the 26 minute mark to be precise, being a fine example. Not only do we have Isaiah laying waste to his fretboard, the bass provided by Mike Eginton provides a rock hard foundation to build upon, giving the music a constant groove. The final element that makes this live album so bloody brilliant is the outstanding drumming from ex Rocket From The Crypt drummer Mario Rubalcaba. The battery of the drums is ferocious throughout and the man's experience and talent just flourishes throughout the album, mostly taking centre stage along with the brilliant guitar work rather than simply providing a nice backdrop.

I seriously advise that everyone gets this record, jumps in to bed early one evening and just listen to this in the dark. Let your brain take in this album in one full listen and you will have one of the best live albums of 2008. This is a fact.



Liam Spencer / Daily Dischord