The Great Wilderness #3 - Hexagon

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I'm a little late to this, hardly a surprise there. Costa Rica's The Great Wilderness released their latest single "Hexagon" earlier this month, the second track taken from their forthcoming debut LP and is currently available as a free download via Bandcamp. The album is said to follow on November 15th and is definitely one to look out for as this and earlier single, the title-track "In The Hour Of The Wolf" testify.

"Hexagon" starts as it means to continue with ominous percussion and swirling guitar echoes creating a compelling tapestry of the darkened world that's perfectly in keeping with today's date - Hallow's Eve - slowly and surely it builds in intensity around grizzly vocals and tour de force riffs to commanding peaks which shiver with mysterious power. That's what you call a statement of intent - I'm off to hide under my bed.

The Great Wilderness #2 - In the Hour of the Wolf

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 I first "introduced" The Great Wilderness here a couple of years back when I'd just missed the opportunity to catch them live, they've not returned to the UK since and this track "In the Hour of the Wolf" - the lead track taken from a forthcoming album of the same name - is the first new material in that time with the band having seemingly gone through a couple of line-up changes too, thankfully though, none of the explosive talent seems to have left to group.

"In the Hour of the Wolf" sees the band in a heavy, dynamic form with an expressive blend of psychedelic, swirling melody and dark rumbling drums and bass-lines, chiming guitars and haunting vocals combine as the track builds to a climatic, powerful finale of storm inducing noise. Exciting -  if you're new to The Great Wilderness make sure you listen to their incredible track "Dark Horse" - grab them for free download via Bandcamp.

Twenty Five of the Best Songs of 2011 - Part Two

12. Zola Jesus - Vessel
Posted 29th June: "Vessel" is a stunning return for Nika Roza Danilova, harsh metallic beats and Nika's colossal voice create an immediate, menacing atmosphere that's dramatic and chilly."


11. Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down
Posted 20th July: "Coming Down" is a real heart on sleeve lament. Dee Dee's smoky vocals recall more Hope Sandoval than the lo-fi fuzzed-out Shangri-La's of the debut. Languid, echoey guitars shimmer with emotion and longing, complementing the woozy and wistful lyrics perfectly, everything about this track is mellow, luscious, amazing. For those late night, alcohol soaked melancholic moments. Undeniably vulnerable and beautiful, if the album hits me like this track then it's going to be something special."


10. Echo Lake - Sunday Evening
Posted 3rd January and June 15th: "...Their sound highlighted perfectly on the shimmering beauty that is "Sunday Evening", with its hypnotising intensity, chiming guitars and foot-stomping progressive beat..."


9. Daughter - Love
Posted 10th November: "Elena's voice remains pure and beautiful throughout, it's probably one of the most emotionally affecting, gorgeous voices I've heard recently, listening to the opening verse of the heartbreaking "Love" with its wounded, confessional lyrics is a provides a genuine goosebumps moment. If you aren't amongst those 6000 followers perhaps now is the time to stand up and pay attention, I'm sure dozens of A&R guys already have."

8. The Great Wilderness - Dark Horse
Posted 22nd September: "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 gob smacked, then you'll want to press repeat, again and again."


7. The Joy Formidable - Spectrum
Posted 6th February: "Their sound is individual and unique, but recognisable and accessible. Whilst managing to simultaneously sound like and unlike every guitar band you ever heard, The Joy Formidable are a truly astonishing and daunting prospect but fortunately they are blessed with enough style and charisma to create the perfect package".

6. Braids - Lemonade
Posted 6th January: "Lemonade" is the stand-out, a seven minute masterpiece which pushes the boundaries of mainstream psych-pop, swirling, tropical soundscapes and bubbling ambient electronics give the perfect platform for Raphaelle's delicately soft vocals (which hide somewhat of a dirty mouth)."

5. I Break Horses - Hearts
Posted 10th May: "Hearts", for me at least, is the signature I Break Horses track, perhaps because it's what hooked me first, it's simply heavenly. Frozen beats sparkle while pulsating rhythms add a slightly sinister tone (my initial reaction was The Terminator theme) all softly woven amongst echoey drums and the hushed yet, ethereal coos of Maria Lindén. Her voice, as beautiful as it is, acts as another layer of the instrumentation where the lyrical content matters little."


4. Austra - The Beat and The Pulse
Posted 24th January: Austra are Domino's latest signing, the work of Katie Stelmanis whose debut release "Beat & The Pulse" is dominated by a powerful, pounding dance-floor filling dark electro beat"


3. Lanterns on The Lake - I Love You, Sleepyhead
Posted 29th November : "...windswept instrumentation sweeps and swoons while heartbroken melodies tug at your heart strings, the updated version of "I Love You, Sleepyhead" the perfection summation, genuinely gorgeous..."


2. EMA - California
Posted 1st April: "California" is beautifully stark, through grinding, droning walls of feedback, the opening line of "Fuck California, you made me boring" sums up Erika's defiance in one line and it's repeated refrain "I’m just 22 / I don’t mind dying" is almost triumphant."


1. Josh T. Pearson - Honeymoon's Great! Wish You Were Her
Posted 29th November : "The most stunning most though is on the devastating centrepiece "Honeymoon's Great! Wish You Were Her", the longest track in an album of lengthy numbers, at thirteen minutes it's raw, emotional and regretful "I’m in love with another woman, please don’t tell the wife / I cannot seem to stop it and it’s fuckin’ up my fucked up life" (in fact just read the whole lyrics here), a poetic lament to unrequited love and being stuck between two women. I'll repeat myself, an album of such heartbreaking fragility and beauty that I can't say any more than just listen to it."

The Great Wilderness - New Music "Introducing"

thegreatwilderness.bandcamp.com/ / Facebook

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