Red Sparows (USA)
Music that's larger than the universe
This year's Ilosaarirock Festival's regular dose of hypnosis is served by Red Sparowes. A band of few words but with a lot of sense of drama, Red Sparowes float, boom and crash in the borderlands between post rock and ambient. Once you know that the band originates from the famously rich and diverse alternative music scene of Los Angeles and is affiliated with names such as ISIS, Neurosis, Melvins and Tool, many of you have already guessed what the true colour of these little birds is.
Red Sparowes' songs grow stealthily and end up being larger than the universe itself. Guitar effects are many and plenty, yet the soundscape remains crystal clear and limpid, free of unnecessary clutter. Musical soul sisters and brothers that instantly come to mind include Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grails and Magyar Posse.
Straightforwardly titled The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer (2010) is Red Sparowes' latest tour de force, an epic that starts with simple sounds but swells up until it becomes massive and incredibly haunting. Every album by Red Sparowes is a one-way ticket to the band’s own private cosmos, and this summer, the spaceship takes off at Laulurinne.
