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Gersey - No Satellites

Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Year Released: 2006 Rating: B+ Recommended For Listeners of: Interpol, Joy Division, Editors, Psychedelic Furs, Slowdive, Adorable ,Pale Saints, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Cure, U2, Catherine Wheel, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chameleons, Sonic Youth No Satellites Fairly unknown outside of Australia Gersey is a Melbourne based 5-piece, influenced by the shoegazer sound of the early 90s and post punk's vivid past. The band is comprised of Craig Jackson (vocals, bass), Daryl Bradie (guitar), Matt Davis (guitar), Danny Tulen (drums) and Drew Pearse (keyboards). No Satellites is third full length from Gersey having been around since 1997. They took four years to follow up their second album, with No Satellites. After a false start - including a cancelled recording session with producer Wayne Connolly, the group finally entered the studio with Dean Turner. Tim Whitten - who has worked previously with The Clouds, Underground Lovers and more recently, Gaslight Radio and 78 Saab - mixed the album. "No Satellites" is collection melodic and polished guitar driven tracks in the mold of modern post punkers Interpol and Editors. It is mixture of some of the finest alternative music from the past 25 years. U2, The Chameleons, Psychedelic Furs, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Catherine Wheel all come to mind when listening to this record. "I'm Still Here" opens the album in shimmering tension, building from a slow shoegazer drone to a layers of cascading guitars. This opening dynamics here proves Gersey is no slouch of a band. Jackson's voice has a slight bit of ruggedness that is similar to Pete Fijalkowski from early 90s stalwarts Adorable and Richard Butler of Psychedelic Furs. The brilliant "No Love" is a catchy swooning number featuring guitars drenched in delay and chorus. The repeating bass also follow in that mode to remind us of post punk legends The Chameleons. "Fire" begins almost in post-rock fashion with the echoing guitars building and repeating for close to 3 minutes. It then slips into modern post punk, much like the Editors. Jackson does some fine emoting as well. One of the slow numbers on the record is "Fourteen Shades". This could be the best track on the record for Jackson's emotional singing and the brilliant interludes of chiming guitars. The dreamy backup harmonies on "No Satellites" must be mentioned for well timed execution that complement the melodies played on guitars. The sheer beauty of this combination call be heard at the end of "Remains". "Sinners in White" is a catchy blistering U2-ish track, featuring walls of echoing guitars, driving rhythms and soft interludes. It grabs your ear from the start with the echoing guitar stabs. It features keyboards running alongside the lead guitars to create a velvet layer of sound that is smooth yet aggressive in execution. This reviewers favorite of the record and certainly one for the stadium to sing along to. "Roll Out the Heartbreakers" is another slowish yet bruising track. This may the first bluesgazer track ever. Almost an instrumental, it ends with loud guitars fading to almost a whisper. This preempts the pace of the closing track "Searchlights". A slow, really slow end to decent third outing from these Aussies. Overall a fine effort from Gersey, sad they are hardly known outside of Australia. Recommended highly for people who get a high from the sound of guitars with heavy delay, echo and chorus guitar pedals attached. A lot of music exploring late 70s and early 80s sounds are being lashed out everyday. Some explore synths, some the beats and some the guitars. Gersey goes the way of guitars. Lush atmospherics, emotive vocals and some fine arrangements fill this record, providing enough to satisfy rock and pop fans of all kinds. Listen: MySpace \| Buy: Inertia \| Video: YouTube
Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 January 2009 )

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