I found The Great Wilderness a little too late for my liking, the Costa Rican group (who share their bassist, Monserrat Vargas with Las Robertas) played a handful of UK dates just a few weeks ago, unfortunately for me I discovered them after that, lets hope they return to our shores again soon.
They've three releases to date (all their releases can be downloaded for free from their bandcamp - too kind). Their debut EP 'Afterimages of Glowing Visions' signalled their intent, a relentless hurricane of raw, rocking noise. The assault begins with "1956" which drowns guitars in healthy washes of reverb, "Ada" kicks you in the gut straight away with its ferocious wall of sound crescendos, before soothing with irresistible ethereal vocals then resuming the onslaught, unleashing another wave of bashing drums and buzzing guitar. "Sandbox" is equally praise worthy, a brilliant debut EP, download it whilst you can.
Their second release 'Tiny Monster' came out towards the end of 2010 and is more expressive and ambient, full of psychedelic melodies and swirling textures perhaps best portrayed on the stunning "When in June", languid guitar soundscapes and hazy, delicate vocals, it's simply beautiful. Other stand-out's include opener "On Smoke", which floats between dream-like melody and exploding rhythms with aggressive snarling vocals and "Nicholas Cage", which certainly packs more bite into its four minutes than its namesake has in any of his recent movies.
Their most recent (and best) release is the spellbinding "Dark Horse", a sprawling nine minute epic, seamlessly flowing from luscious, dreamy melodies, shimmering guitar rhythms sewn together by vocalist Paola's haunting voice to a shattering cataclysm of pummelling drums and frenetic guitar riffs played with such searing intensity you'll be left gobsmacked, then you'll want to press repeat, again and again.
Listen below, be prepared to be blown away:
Dark Horse (Part I and II) by The Great Wilderness
The Great Wilderness - When in June
The Great Wilderness - Nicholas Cage
Ada by The Great Wilderness
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