A Post Rock Out In Brussels

Last night, not for the first time in Brussels, I was in a bit of a quandary. Did I go to Beurskafee to see two post rock bands, Belgiums own Cecilia::Eyes and Alkalys from France, or stay in Churchills to listen to the excellent Men In Blue? On the principal that I'd probably not get the chance to see Alkalys in the foreseeable future, I opted for the former and headed down to Beurs and the Beurskafee.

First off, the Beurskafee venue. I must have walked past it hundreds of times and not known it existed, delving into it's murky heart I was mightily impressed. The cavern like quality of its interior has a superb atmosphere and is ideal for gigs. Spacious, but not overly so, and oozes character from every brick. Little touches like the letters WC projected onto the wall on the steps down to the bog, that's bathroom to you Americans out there, and a ladder ascending into the ceiling behind the bar make it feel like a piece of installation art. I didn't see it, but there's also a much bigger hall on the first floor. All in all a great place to showcase Brussels finest music (hint Suki).

Sitting there beer in hand I waited for the gig to start and a close encounter of the post rock kind. As to what post rock is, I didn't have a clue before that night, but hey, there's so many musical sub-categories you can't know them all. Checking it out since then, I've heard it described as a mix of ambient, jazz, electronica, and experimental music with more than a hint of minimalism and repetition ala Steve Reich and Philip Glass. In post rock, traditional rock instruments provide musical texture rather than act as the driving force found in its mainstream kindred.

And so on to the show, first up Cecelia::Eyes, a band consisting of a bassist, Pascal Thys, two guitarists Christophe Thys, Mike Colart & Gauthier Vilain, and a drummer, Xavier Waerenburgh. Xavier also plays keyboards. This was the bands first live performance of their second studio album, Here Dead We Die, and a damn fine album it is too.

Hypnotic, pulsating, layered in sampled voices and poetry driven on by Xavier's metronomic drumming, Cecilia::Eyes were a mightily impressive group live. Guitars and bass weaved a rich soundscape taking the audience to another place in time and space, and it was a place that I was in no hurry to leave. Music to chill out to, delivered with a deft touch by a band who were masters of their craft. If you've had a bad day at the office then Cecilia::Eyes' music would be a great way to unwind. Post rock also has elements of drone rock and I could here this in their music with musical themes gradually building in intensity to the point when they were unstoppable and overwhelming. Blowing away your senses and mind in short order. Hey I really loved this band.



To quote from the central mantra in Anthem For Doomed Youth "The art of war is simple enough, find out who your enemy is and strike him as hard as you can, as often as you can and keep moving on.". This is one band that will keep on moving on, I look forward to watching their journey.

I've since listened to the bands previous album Mountain Tops Are Sometimes Closer To The Moon and the EP Echoes From The Attic and can report that both are also top drawer and well worth checking out.

Here Dead We Lie will be available in stores from the 16th of April 2010, in the meantime you can order it from their label dEPOT214 RECORDS or send an e-mail to depot214@depot214.com. Go buy it!

After the ambient beauty of Cecilia::Eyes, France's Alkalys were much heavier proposition delivering a drum heavy set with kick ass intensity and rocking the joint. With a plank of wood used as a bow to play a guitar this was a different form of post rock. A thunderous mutated form which if left unattended would like as not eat your hamster and mug your grandmother.

The Brussels crowd were whipped into a frenzy by the aural assault, which is quite impressive considering their normal passivity. Guitars were played and bowed, the drums thundered on until finally the show ended in a wave of feedback and adrenalin. Great stuff.

As for the Men In Blue, by the time I hit the street it was 00:30 in the morning so I had to settle for watching their excellent cover version of The Beatles Come Together when I got back to my apartment. More pre rock than post but damn fine nonetheless. The word on the street is that their concert in Churchill's last night was outstanding and that the place rocked big style. I do promise to see them the next time they play Brussels, post rock invasions not withstanding.

Vive la France, vive post rock, vive la Musique Bruxelles, thank you and good night.