Listing Ships - The 100 Gun Ship

(American Steam Company, 2011)

One of the musical revelations of music in Oxford in 2011 has been the emergence of Listing Ships, a band whose 90s-post-rock-leaning demo ‘Maiden Voyage’ we enthused about earlier in the year. Along with a couple of god-awful nautically-themed puns, we said that record was like “a nineties alternative and post-rock nostalgia trip, combining elements of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Tortoise to create [anthemic, vast soundscapes]“.

The 100 Gun Ship is Listing Ships’ first EP and the debut release on their own American Steam Company label. Considering that the three songs from their demo appear on this EP in their original forms, there’s no point regurgitating the praise we lumped on them last time (especially when you can just go read the review here). So onto the new. Opening track ‘The 100 Gun Ship’ is the most ferocious thing the band have released so far, beginning with a driving bassline that anchors the layers of guitar and electronics, giving them free reign to expand out and muddy the atmosphere. After such a ferocious start, ‘Melusine Romance’ is, in stark contrast (and for lack of a better term), the ‘loveliest’ thing we’ve yet heard from the band; all fluttering guitars and sudden unexpected bursts of distortion. The song conjures up the various bittersweet emotions associated with the choppy waters of love, which is especially appropriate given the song name, and there is plenty of tension thrown in for good measure. ‘Then Venice Sank’ brings it all back to Krautrock territory (think Neu!) – the dominant influence on this EP.

For my tastes, the New Rose Hotel remix of ‘Equus Ager’ that closes the EP is a little superfluous; perhaps the band felt that it was a worthy or necessary inclusion because The 100 Gun Ship is essentially an expanded version of ‘Maiden Voyage’ – but for all its pleasant atmospherics, the song doesn’t particularly add to the collection besides to create a feeling of being submerged under water. Never mind, it’s a minor gripe on what is an otherwise great EP from a band who are getting better with each release.

[Originally published on MusicInOxford.co.uk, 09/12/11]
http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/12/09/listing-ships-the-100-gun-ship-american-steam-company/