Apse: Climb Up is a Force to be reckoned with

Remember Spirit, the debut album by Apse? It was dark and delicious and declared to be the “deathnail to post-rock.” Described by critics as atmospheric and haunting, it propelled Apse into higher levels of notoriety, and fans have been eagerly awaiting the next album for some time now.

November 10th was the day, my darlings, when Apse revealed Climb Up, described to me to be their most intimate and yet accessible work to date. Melodic, with more emphasis on electronica, I’m listening to it now and yeah, I have to agree. It’s taken critics a bit off guard. Not that anyone has written off this band… no. But I’m not sure people realized just exactly what they were up to, holed up as they were in New England for much of 2008.

Climb Up starts out with “Blown Doors,”  a rhythmic, heavy-bass line, balanced by delicate vocals track which won me over instantly. I love it so much I’ve included it on a certain year-end mix tape which will appear on these pages soon. It’s hurried, breathless, whirling. And from that point on, Climb Up continues to please with lots of electronic organ notes to compliment Bobby’s insistent vocals. Lyrically, songs like “Rook” drive the phrase “I’m losing my mind over you” into my head, a phrase which is only bettered by the buzzing, desperate melody. There’s a similar element in A Place To Bury Stranger ‘s Exploding Heads, a common, hungry, insistence. And halfway through, at “The Age” when the urging is peaked at a frenzied scale, Apse inserts this brilliant, gem of a song, “Tropica.” It’s perfect for holding the place it does on the album and reveals the thought that went into this project. Industrial-like percussion sounds stream out of my speakers, completely breaking the mood so that I find myself taking a long, deep breath for what seems like the first time since I turned this record on. That’s a very good thing; there’s five more songs to go. Step over here to see the new video they have for “3.1″

What follows are brilliant tracks that incorporate everything from rather rock-operatic effects in “Lie” to decidedly the swan-song feelings of the title track, “Climb Up.” But it’s the “The Whip” that thrills me the most, with it’s driving melody,  like a sister song to “Blown Doors.” This record is good from start to finish. I’ve listened to it at least twenty times in the past month and I expect to use songs from it in a mix tape or two. We can only hope that they will bring this to a US tour, this is a band that is just now coming out of a bit of a long, self-imposed exile. Tour dates are just beginning to emerge and as I write this, Apse are completing the 10 Years Of ATP Festival in Minehead, UK. I can not wait to hear this live. Do not miss it when they come near you, xoxo

Dec 15 2009 8:00P Stuk Leuven Leuven, BE
Dec 16 2009 8:00P De Kreun Kortrijk, BE
Dec 17 2009 8:00P Vera Groningen, NL
Dec 18 2009 8:00P Ekko Utrecht, NL
Dec 19 2009 8:00P Borderline London