Danish band Late Night Venture brings post-rock and shoegaze music from Copenhagen. The five piece first appeared in 2006 with their self-titled debut so it has been awhile since their last full length, but they return with a vengeance on their second album Pioneers Of Spaceflight. Recorded over the course of a year and a half, the new album delves into various styles within the rock genre and is another solid release in the post-rock field.
Pioneers Of Spaceflight was recorded live in studio by the band and the music benefits from this approach. The ten track album has its share of instrumental music, but there are also a number of vocal tracks as well. This helps Late Night Venture avoid the trap some post-rock outfits fall in where too much of the album starts to sound the same and pushes your limits of engagement and interest.
I do have to admit that my favorite tracks here are of the purely instrumental variety. Things get off to a rolling start with "Kaleidoscopes", the longest song on the album at 7:35. Guitar heavy, while retaining a melody, it's a smashing start to the album. "The Empty Forest" has very minimal vocals, a repeated line of 'You wake me up to set the fire', interrupted by bursts of the band's guitar attack. It's a song both menacing and beautiful at the same time. The album's highlight is "Birmingham", which boasts the loveliest melody on Pioneers Of Spaceflight. Things start off kind of soft with a restrained keyboard, drum and guitar foundation, but the song builds into a thunderous wall of sound, never losing that gorgeous melody. It's simply a great track.
I also like the impact the keyboards have on such tracks as album closer "Carisma" and "Ready No". It keeps things from getting too guitar heavy and the additional instrumentation prevalent throughout is an asset. "Glitterpony" is a downbeat attention getter as well, proof of a band not afraid to explore different sounds within an album and still succeed at creating a coherent piece. Pioneers Of Spaceflight is a must have if you're a fan of the post-rock genre.
Pioneers Of Spaceflight was released October 15, 2012 via Target Distribution/Dunk! Records.
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