Via Fondo - Tar (2011)

Download

Oh wow, it has been a while. Recently, I haven't been checking the blog at all, like I explained in the previous post, but things are going really slow with my thesis. It is an extremely bittersweet thing, since it is interesting to research and write about the subject, but it manages to drain all my will and inspiration to write something other than that. For days now I have been waking up with an enormous wish to post here, so I think that today I finally gave in. Hopefully people managed to be patient and stick around to even notice this.

Either way, I am very happy to begin the year with a passionately loved band by yours truly. Some of you might remember my, rather short and lame, review of the self titled release by "Via Fondo", written way back in the Summer of 2010. You can check it out here, in case you missed it, and see how much my amazement with the band was almost instant and this record just goes to prove that the love was permanent. "Tar" is by no means a recent album, since it came out in 2011, but my paws got it in vinyl format recently and the inspiration to write about it and share it with all of you just exploded. Furthermore, I noticed that the release didn't grab much attention from the audience and that the band in general remained quite underrated, which is a big no no.

The descendants of "Anemone", "Via Fondo", bring us this 7'' release which carries two new songs. In the very same moment when I played the first song, "Hals Over Huvud", the tunes coming from the speakers managed to throw me back to the day when I discovered this band. They still radiate with the thing that succeeded to take my breath away back then, the sheer amount of raw emotions imbued in their music and the tunes themselves sounding passionately. That first track begins with a cold, melancholic soundscape, having a very depressive, yet lively rhythm. It takes time to build up with intensity, keeping you on the edge with rising and falling constantly, until it gets to the middle, where you are met with a peak of their sound. The rushing melody, composed of rending riffs and superb drumming, takes you so fast toward the ending and leaving you stunned. After you are left shivering, the track "Bortvandhet" comes to pick you up with a happier tone, at the beginning at least. This is where I noticed a really interesting feature of this record, a sort of duality which both songs carry. Where the first song was a depressive one turned aggressive, the second track is jolly at first, but morphs into something that one could expect coming from a band like "Raein". Like the first track, "Bortvandhet" just snaps at the middle and takes a whole different course. The joyous intro of the song really lifts you up with its fast tones and singing, but you are remorselessly dropped to the ground on the first corner. The drumming and bass playing are suddenly lowered down, making way for an amazing guitar riff which manages to sculpt a completely new type of sound lasting until the end, dying out in chaos.

I would also like to take a few moments and lines to talk about the artwork and packaging. The lyrics, and thus the majority of the text inside, are written in Swedish and this made me sad. Just kidding, but aside of that, there are song meanings in English, to which I really managed to correlate, so this made me happy. The artwork found inside is really wonderful and it is done by Karl from the band by the way, like on the self titled release I believe. Speaking of his artwork, he also animated a video for one of their songs and you should check it out on their blog, found here, since it is beyond cool.

Thus far, aside of the two records reviewed here, "Via Fondo" is featured on a four way split with "Halal/Hadhari", "Sensor!Sensor!" and "Echo Echo Landscape!" and on a compilation done by "Tokyo Jupiter". It makes my heart fill with joy seeing this band being active and alive after almost two years of work. I honestly hope that nothing will stand in their way when it comes to future recordings and that this review manages to attract more listeners, since they really deserve the attention. Definitely check them out, you will surely enjoy.

Via Fondo - Via Fondo (2010)

Download

With great excitement I start writing this. A while ago there was this much loved, but sadly short lived screamo band from Sweden with just a few releases, but all of them masterpieces. But in 2009 they fell apart, quite a bad thing for this genre. Yet from the scattered collective some pieces remained in a new project, continuing the brilliant work the previous band did. The band now known as "Via Fondo" rose from the ashes of the amazing "Anemone".

First of all, I must admit that I was introduced to this project back in May this year by a friend, both a blessing and a curse. The band recorded just one song at the moment and it wasn't final, so I was asked to stay quiet about the whole thing and it was so hard not sharing it with anyone. And finally here I am, writing this to the tunes of this mind blowing 4 track selftitled release, completely confused at what to write first, since I want to say so much about this project.

I remember back in May that upon hearing the song (if my mind serves me well, the track in question was "Icicles") and I was absolutely stunned by what I heard, yet when I heard this final release I couldn't believe how they actually managed to improve that which was already amazing. The legacy left from "Anemone" is apparent in this release and let's be honest, we are not talking about a flaw here, but this four piece evolved the sound further and added a touch of their own, making this an audio spectacle. So, what is so special about "Via Fondo"? The technical aspects are superb, great and clean recordings where all instruments are very easily discerned and you can easily concentrate on a wanted tone. But the more important part, the actual music is where they excel at. An unbelievable amalgam of chaos and aggression, yet at the same time gentle and emotionally charged tunes, an ever present feeling of coldness and distance during listening. It is quite hard to explain the things twirling in your mind while you indulge in these tunes, one must listen to understand. Every part of the band has some unique role in a given song, like in the track "Vulpes Vulpes" where the vocal sounds tormented and at moments an added echo and pack singing inserts the mentioned distance, yet the instruments at first start violently and they slowly begin dropping down at moments, finally letting the guitar lead into a gentle, barely noticeable overtone until it's playing alone for a few seconds, only for the whole band to explode once again. See what I mean? Hard to explain, simply because it really takes your breath away.

And what to say at the end? We can all only hope that this project won't be short lived as was its predecessor and that they continue making music like this. So give them the much needed support, they deserve every bit of it. You can get in touch with them here.

Special thanks to my dear lastfm friend samanthaaajane for introducing me to "Via Fondo" music and to Gustav who approved the posting of their music. Enjoy!