Forests - Dead Species LP

Label: Forests

Our Review:

We've said it many times before, but the best album discoveries are the ones that come totally out of nowhere. Forests came to us on a tip from a friend, a Taiwanese band with little in the way of press or internet presence, and one minute into the first track we heard and we were hooked. Think Mix-Up-era Cabaret Voltaire, but with the a drummer that falls somewhere between the skeletal pulse of Disappears and the repurposed junk-drumming of Einsturzende Neubauten. A lysergic swirl of strange, effects-laden synths and electronics, dark, brooding post-punk bass lines, hypnotic rhythms, and monotone vocals, all with a kind of outsider approach that makes you wonder if they've even heard the bands they sound like. Quite a welcome departure from their previous incarnation as a more Sebadoh/Pavement style indie rock band, we must say. Weird, awesome, and highly recommended!