Sunday 8 October 2017

AUTISM

BandAUTISM
GenresPunk / Instru-metal / Rock / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Ambient
Related artists?.
CountryVilnius LITHUANIA
Years Active2012-present
Song: "In Anger"
Album: "Film Noir"
Year: 2017
For fans ofTerraformer, Pelican, Finger Of God, Tomydeepestego, Black Clouds, Ornaments, Goonies Never Say Die, Gifts From Enola, Omega Massif, Glasir, Town Portal, Grand Détour, This City Called Earth, Mono, Explosions In The Sky, Town Portal, Maserati, Shy, Low, Red Sparowes and Russian Circles.
Label(s): Self Released / Throats Productions
This post's artist is from the October 2017 Mix. This is track #10.
You can download: the October 2017 Mix#10 right here or get the new November 2017 Mix#11 here.

It's been said before and I'll say it again, Dave loves instru-metal. In over 10 years my tastes in the genre have barely even budged. Beginning in the early 2000s with the almighty Pelican, I have been on a nearly two-decade-long quest to find more bands in the same vein. Lithuania's AUTISM recently sent me their 2017 offering 'Film Noir' and after a spins I was hooked.

The first EP 'Falling Motions' is an excellent debut, combining the finesse of Red Sparowes with the groove of Maserati and an occasional trek into heavier territory but remain pretty upbeat, for the most part. My personal favourite is "Bleak Reverie" and the sexy guitar leads that they've got going on at the 1:30 and 3:00 marks. "Crashing Silence" is another standout track, featuring some nice guitar wailin'. You may also notice that the songs are much shorter, generally ranging within the three-something range.

Later that same year the 'Savant Syndrome' single was released, with the track being a teaser for their 2013 full length, 'The Crawling Chaos', which is hindered by poorly placed audio clips of a man speaking. There are times when it actually comes together quite nicely, such as the hazy and light beginning of "Behind the Shapeless Figure" (a classic instru-metal track) and "Maelstrom" (holy squeals, Batman). Many times, though, the speaking is placed directly over a key part in the song, thus detracting from the musical effect intended, as the entire instrumental section seems to fade into the backdrop. Key examples of the talking getting in the way of great stuff are noticeable right away on opener "The Crawling Chaos", "Concealment" and "Onset". There's a pretty cool The Advantage style part at about 3:20 and again at 4:00 in "Radiant Waters", which is a good track but also hindered by additional clicking...on the guitar? I don't know, but it's bothersome on an otherwise sweet song.

Whatever happened in the four years between 'The Crawling Chaos' and 'Film Noir' worked out extremely well for the band, because this is a beautifully concise piece of work, despite the songs evolving to 6-10 minutes apiece. Opener "Alive and Torn" is the shortest and calmest track on the LP, and only hints at the awesomeness that's to come. "In Anger" follows and is the heaviest take by the band thus far, and steps into early Pelican and Omega Massif territory with those crushing riffs. "Humanity - Crescendo" is another excellent song that focuses more on the ambient, post-hardcore side of AUTISM, ending up sounding akin to Tomydeepestego and Terraformer. The opening section screams late-era Isis, while the midsection is sprinkled with mini-breakdowns, beautiful guitar layering and subdued, jammy bits complete with a thick, driving close. "Brittle Bones" is a cool song, complete with a horrific audio clip of a woman screaming during a phone call. It ends up sound a bit like the heavy, space rock of Mono with the dark, ominous feel of Finger Of God and Ornaments. "Your Loudest Sound is Change" is the closest thing to the older AUTISM recordings and is a solid track but doesn't reach the height of most of the other songs. "918" is the behemoth of the record, weighing in at a hefty 8:31. Closer and title track "Film Noir" is even longer, hitting 8:36 of dreamy, post-hardcre and instru-metal bliss with a fantastic, sweeping ending.

I'm not sure what the band is up to next, but their 12" for 'Film Noir' is or is at least close to selling out, so hopefully that's further motivation to record some new tracks!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2012 - Falling Motion digitalEP (stream/buy/download here)
2012 - Savant Syndrome digital single (stream/buy/download here)

2013 - The Crawling Chaos cdLP (stream/donate/download here)

2017 - Film Noir 12"LP (stream/buy here)

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(2017) AUTISM - "In Anger" (from 'Film Noir')

(2017) AUTISM - "Humanity - Crescendo" (from 'Film Noir')

(2017) AUTISM - "Brittle Bones" (from 'Film Noir') official music video

(2013) AUTISM - "Behind the Shapeless Figure" (from 'The Crawling Chaos')

(2013) AUTISM - "Maelstrom" (from 'The Crawling Chaos')

(2012) AUTISM - "Savant Syndrome" (from 'Savant Syndrome')

(2012) AUTISM - "Bleak Reverie" (from 'Falling Motion')

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AUTISM additional links

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