LamRatLazIt1st is a half-British, half South American three piece progressive / post punk band comprising Wagner (drums/vocals), Matthew (guitar/vocals) and Keith (bass/vocals).

The band was formed around September 2006 and immediately embarked on a punishing rehearsal / writing schedule. A series of shows across the south of England, though chiefly in London, followed, before a short tour of Brazil in March 2007. Since then, the band have been hard at work completing their debut recording, "Viver Sem Fronteiras?" which is now available on Tuneless Records. The record collates much of the original material written by the band and weaves this together with a series of audio samples and graphics culled from the aforementioned Brazilian tour.

At the time of writing, the band are promoting "Viver Sem Fronteiras" and preparing to regroup, once the inherent logistical difficulties have been addressed. Keep checking the MySpace page for further updates!

Tag: lamratlazitist

Love and Mathematics

Stage lights illuminate Love and Mathematics. Squalls of effects-dappled guitar wash over an unsuspecting crowd. Swelling keyboards rise forth and create a kaleidoscope of dizzying sonics. As the lush atmospherics begin to lure listeners towards a dark place, a jubilantly melodic bass guitar intercedes. Drums join the fray, bashing out tribal beats and creating a pulsing rhythm that sets the dance floor writhing. A vocalist wracked with twitching intensity takes to the microphone and casts a hypnotic spell. A second voice chimes in. Working in tandem, they conjure a choir of celestial songbirds.

Esoteric yet immediate, cataclysmic but celebratory, paradoxical Love and Mathematics play spacey psych-pop at its most apocalyptic.

The Vancouver band can trace their beginnings to a longstanding partnership between Ian Somers (vocals/guitar/keyboards) and Shane Turner (bass/vocals). When the pair recruited Lucas Rose (guitar/keyboards), they found his monolithic, dissonant guitar work muddying their pristine pop stylings. Rather than reining Rose in, they embraced the opportunity to reinvent themselves entirely and explore a dynamic new direction. The sea change was complete once the three collaborators discovered talismanic drummer Kyle Koenig. Koenig’s controlled-chaos kit attack brought an urgent energy to the group. Christened Love and Mathematics, the four-piece drew from Built to Spill’s angular melodies, Mogwai’s textured mediations and Animal Collective’s spaced-out oddity to forge a sound distinctly their own.

Adjourning to Vancouver’s storied Hive studio, the band worked with producer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Pretty Girls Make Graves) to record a four-song, self-titled EP. Rather than duplicating their oceanic live sound, Love and Mathematics opted to explore a more nuanced approach with the recordings. The final result reflects a band invigorated and inspired by the wealth of new ideas and possibilities presented to them.

Out of the gates, the propulsive “Remember to Masticate” lashes into the listener with discordant guitars, lilting harmonies and rhythms that turn on a whim. “Copper Coin Bikini” brims and bristles with skittish energy as lyrics sketch out an abstract rebellion: “You are the emissary; I am the socialist; Gather the troops and rally outside the capital.” The disc’s most cathartic track, “Plan for a Better Year,” punctuates its emotion-saturated vocals with wails of buzzsaw instrumentation. Finally, the swirling “A Fight Between a Crow and a Seagull” ascends and cascades with an airy grace.

At present, Love and Mathematics are at work self-recording their full-length debut. On their off-nights, they can likely be found upon a darkened stage. With a live set hailed by Exclaim! and The Georgia Straight, the band has shared the limelight with Vancouver’s finest bands – The Book of Lists, You Say Party! We Say Die! and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – as well as touring acts Nada Surf, Okkervil River, The Rosebuds and The Appleseed Cast.

Having established themselves as fixtures of the Vancouver scene, Love and Mathematics have only begun to explore their potential as a band. The remainder of that self-discovery should prove equally enthralling for both the musicians and their listeners.

By the time they produced their third album, ACHE and the 4 track 12" single DIE TOMORROW, The Cateran were edging closer to finally shaking off the Hüsker Dü comparisons that had dogged them since they formed in Inverness in the mid 1980s. With these two releases they were creating their own sound, merging layer upon layer of grungy guitars and delicate harmonies into a sonic maelstrom that only found its true expression in the bands increasingly intense and unstable live performances. High spots for the band included joyfully chaotic European tours, an abysmal BBC Radio One session and a couple of disastrous TV appearances. More memorably and despite the earlier unfavourable comparisons, the band played with Grant Hart on his first UK appearances after the demise of Hüsker Dü. They also had close links with such luminaries as Nirvana, Mega City Four, Bitch Magnet, Lemonheads and many more. Shortly after the release of Ache, Andy Milne left the band and was replaced by Willie Murray on drums. An acrimonious split followed soon after, which saw Kai and Murdo move on to form the Joyriders before eventually going their separate ways. There are no reports of Cameron having done anything post Cateran.