Modsdive – The Stasis of Humanity

These days, whenever somebody asks me for my favorite bands I make sure to mention Modsdive. I’ve been following them from the very start and though the band is still new, they offered one of the best performances I saw last year. Now their first album The Stasis of Humanity is ready for release and I can’t help but play it on repeat.

modsdive_thestasisofhumanity

The first half of the album is all about strong post-rock bordering on post-hardcore with rich walls of sound begging to be heard live so that they can devour you. The melodies are compelling and while there is consistent force, the dynamics of post-rock are still very present as the band instead of moving between quiet and loud alternate between less or more different sources of sound to build the complete image.

The Stasis of Humanity is released on Apollo 18’s own Gogol Records and with Modsdive leader Youn Sung Hoon supporting A18 on stage every now and then it is only natural that Modsdive too carries a similar sound at times. This becomes particularly clear on “Xi’an”, which with its full 10 minutes can be seen as a wonderfully put together collage conjuring the best of Apollo 18–from convincing post-rock intro to psychedelic bass lines to repetitive yet playful guitar lines–but where Apollo 18 would let out screams, Modsdive leave it to the guitars to make the noise.

The post-rock continues on the second half of the album, but here tracks no longer flow together seamlessly as arrangements grow more intricate, yet bring an element of pop to the mix with lighter chords and brighter tremolos as taken from my favorite Donawhale songs. As the dreamy “Hide In The Fog” begins the sudden contrast to previous songs serves to remind the listener of how the band has progressed from an unnamed solo project years ago to what it is today.

Going from intricate diving right into the experimental, closing track “Sitatilliuqnart Eram”–just as the title–is played backwards with additional instrumentation recorded on top and could perhaps have been left out. Even so, this is a great first release and the only thing missing is a few more Modsdive titles that I had hoped to find included.

 

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