*Shels, Anyone?

[Rothiseph]

Hey guys, I'm new to the Dredg forums. Fun times! Having had a look around a bit, it's good to see other people are into some bands I like.. 36 Crazyfists, Opeth, Pennywise. Safe stuff.

I was just wondering how many of you guys had heard of the band *Shels? They produce some of the most hauntingly beautiful post-metal / instrumentally / experimentally music I've heard in a long time, featuring ex-members from such bands as Mahumodo, Eden Maine, Fireapple Red and Devil Sold His Soul. The resulting experience consists of gorgeous soundscapes picked with strings and trumpets and lovely guitar sections, featuring some incredibly pretty layering and instrument arrangement, occasionally peaking with movements of powerfully crushing metal riffs.

Since I picked up their debut album 'Sea Of The Dying Dhow' last year, it has taken place as one of my all time favourite albums, so I can easily say they were one of my greatest discoveries of 2007. Which is always a good thing! I really think most people will be able to find something to like in *Shels, particularly those already familiar with the stylings of post-rock music.

Anyway, I digress... *Shels are going to be releasing their second album 'Plains Of The Purple Buffalo' on US shores around Summertime this year, and this will be the first time they've taken their work to America, so keep your eyes and ears peeled! I'm sure they'd really appreciate if you could have a quick listen, to see what you think.

If you guys are interested in checking them out, have a gander at the *Shels Myspace page for some tracks. I'd recommend starting off with The Conference Of The Birds if you're feeling adventurous, it's the intro track off 'Sea Of The Dying Dhow'. For accessibility, go for Water. It's probably the most stunningly pretty track I heard throughout the entire of 2007. Seriously, I've listened to it so many times that it's now my top track on Last.fm. Love it to pieces.

Also, if you're wanting to buy some merch or check out some other bands on the Shelsmusic label (e.g. Latitudes, Sons Of Noel And Adrian), take a look towards the Shelsmusic page here:




Anyway, please let me know what you guys think if you decide to check them out! I'd love to help *Shels out as much as I can, because their music means so much to me. Hopefully you can find some appreciation in their work too.

[SoundscapeMN]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

I recently checked them out..I believe it was the spiralcircus blog that pimped them..which I know the people who run that 1 are big into dredg among a lot of other groups talked about around here.

And that was like 2 weeks ago..ever since I've seen them mentioned on some other boards too..5/8...Porcupine Tree

I really like the 1st track on their newest disc..the rest I'm not sure about yet.

[Trathena]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

I have to admit that I had a little pre-hate prejudice before I listened. I don't know why; your post was perfectly friendly and your love for the band seems sincere. But I went there expecting to dislike this band. I was full of crap.

This music is, indeed, beautiful. I really enjoyed these songs, especially "Sea of the Dying Dhow" and "Water." I'm listening to "Fireflystarrs" now. Really all of the songs are fantastic. Thanks for the new band!

[Rothiseph]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

I have to admit that I had a little pre-hate prejudice before I listened. I don't know why; your post was perfectly friendly and your love for the band seems sincere. But I went there expecting to dislike this band. I was full of crap.

This music is, indeed, beautiful. I really enjoyed these songs, especially "Sea of the Dying Dhow" and "Water." I'm listening to "Fireflystarrs" now. Really all of the songs are fantastic. Thanks for the new band!

Heh, awesome! Glad you like them. I guess ignoring the post is what happens most of the time when someone puts up a topic on a forum saying "hey, check out this band!", since it's easy to brush off.. I can't deny that I've never done it myself before! But now I tend to check stuff out because I suppose it can't hurt to listen, and it may even introduce me to a new band by the end of it.

Thanks very much for taking the time to have a listen though, that's really cool of you.

[Donnie Darko]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

So, how much do you actually listen to dredg?

[Rothiseph]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

So, how much do you actually listen to dredg?

A whole bunch man, I got into them like 2 years back just after seeing them at Download '06 at Donington in England. I since picked up Leitmotif, El Cielo and Catch Without Arms. I only actually listened to Catch Without Arms for a long time, because I really loved the album and was actually afraid to check out the other stuff in case I didn't like it as much! For a good few months Dredg held precedence for what I'd listen to the majority of the time.

I eventually got El Cielo and Leitmotif a bit after Catch Without Arms, and though I really like Leitmotif and its more forward heavier instrumentation and energy, I fell in love with the sheer beauty of El Cielo. I've got to say Same Ol' Road and The Canyon Behind Her are absolutely stunning. The entire flow of the album is just bang on, it's really pretty to listen to. I actually also heard Orph, but the work on that is quite different to later releases. Is Not Everything is really great though! Reminds me a bit of something else, but I can't quite pin it.. I think Tool or A Perfect Circle for some reason, but the vocals are quite different. And the CBA b-side Stone By Stone, I heard that on their Purevolume before I saw them at Download, that track is fantastic.

I'll admit, it's been quite a while since I've properly listened to them as I've been looking into other bands and getting so much new stuff from elsewhere, that I've not had much of a chance to get back into them. I feel sometimes that I need to be in a specific frame of mind to listen now, whereas before I just put them on as I wasn't so accustomed to the tracks. Not that I don't appreciate them as much, just I feel I might have burned them out slightly by overlistening!

But yeah, I saw the Coachella performance yesterday that they put up on their blog, pretty amazing! Some really unusual arty live pieces, I remember watching at Download when the drummer was the last onstage and he just kept playing as each drum was taken away. It was quite a spectacle. They're still one of the most special and unique bands I've managed to see live. I really want them to come back to the UK some time, but so far I haven't heard anything...

Anyway, all that aside, this space is meant to be about *Shels! Offtopic non-Dredg talk guys! So anybody listened to *Shels lately? There's a pretty awesome video of their track Indian (Part 2) on Youtube and also on their Myspace. They'll be touring the UK this Summer, I seriously can't wait, I can't wait to see what they're like live.. excellent stuff no doubt.

[cribble]

Re: *Shels, Anyone?

ha, Edan Maine, they were a blast. Might catch 'em at The Underworld, so long they're not charging an arm and a leg to get in (it's like £10 to get in right? and then £4,000,000 a pint?! Do i want to spend £10 on a band i barely know?).

Quite like the video on their myfringe aswell.