Hidden Shoal Recordings » Apricot Rail Reviews

Apricot Rail ‘Surry Hills’ – Twiceremoved

Jamie — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:47:19 +0000

Excerpt: “To describe [Perth] local band Apricot Rail as a post rock band would be doing them an injustice. While sharing the ethos of post rock, their sound is more than just restricted to post rock (which is inevitable with a scene or a sound as becoming a restrictive genre). Described by Rave Magazine as “Imagine the ethereal pop of early Múm, the whimsy of Sigur Rós’ more optimistic moments, and (occasionally) the emotional edge of The Twilight Sad. This is consummate indie post-rock laced with Australiana, and well worth checking out.” They are a multi instrumental sextet and use this to their advantage. “Surry Hills” features both chiming and almost surf like guitars structures, minimal almost hand percussion, flute, shimmering electronics that ebbs and flows with the song changing from being driven by the multiple guitars back to the haunting flute melody. This track is a taster for their future Hidden Shoal album release which is probably going to come out early next year…”

Twiceremoved

Apricot Rail ‘Surry Hills’ – The Silent Ballet

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 07:24:48 +0000

“In sorting through the glut of instrumental music releases we receive at The Silent Ballet, it’s rare to come across a single song all by its lonesome and be excited. “Surry Hills” is the first work released by the Perth, Australia-based Apricot Rail since their eponymous debut back in 2009. While previously having erred on the the shimmery and sunny side of post rock, the band shows a new level of maturity in balancing chimes, woodwinds, guitars and other spritely sounds. With flute and clarinet leading the sun to a fog-less morning, all manner of life delicately rises from the soil. The progression within the song is entirely natural in feeling, the ride cymbal joined by a subtle, synthetic rhythm and a hopeful guitar melody tying everything together with a satin bow. This track is a sign of a new direction and pallette that Apricot Rail are destined to explore further on their sophomore album, due next year. 4/5″

The Silent Ballet

Apricot Rail – Prog Archives

Jamie — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:28:27 +0000

Excerpt: “Definitely one of the best new pos-rock bands, APRICOT RAIL hails from Perth…. The music of APRICOT RAIL is a unique mix of guitar-lead classic post-rock a la MONO and MOGWAI, extra percussion and, surprisingly maybe, a wind section consisting of clarinet and flute…. Delicate, melancholic singing comes to set the purpose of this creative unit as a search for ultimate aesthetic beauty rather than formal experiment. The musical landscapes created by all this are at times delicate and charming, or majestic and powerful, and always highly emotional. In conclusion, APRICOT RAIL is highly recommended to those searching for melancholic, beautiful music and a highly refined musical content at the same time.”

Prog Archives

Apricot Rail – 78 Records

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:49:30 +0000

Apricot Rail’s self titled release was named as the second best release of 2009 by 78 Records in Perth.

‘A Million Square Miles’ – The Dwarf

Jamie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:32:38 +0000

Excerpt: “Turn the clock back a few years and most people were convinced there was something in the water in WA because of the sheer number of excellent acts who called that piece of Australia home. Fast forward to 2010 and it seems our short attention spans have been diverted elsewhere in the search of the source of the ‘next big thing’. A Million Square Miles is a compilation…. Drawing together 16 tracks from eight artists, it successfully navigates the folk, indie pop and rock genres….A Million Square Miles is a pleasing and mellow offering that is easy-on-the-ear and reaffirms the fact that there is something in the water out west.”

The Dwarf

“A Million Square Miles” – Adequacy.net

Thea Porter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:38:46 +0000

Excerpt: “This is the rare exhibition of musical aptitude that delights from start to finish, with nary a disappointment to be found. Being tagged by some as Australia’s answer to the British label 4AD, Hidden Shoal (HSR) does indeed specialize in a brand of music that places atmosphere, ambience, and texture high on the priority list. With an onslaught of reverb and delay effects that would put the Edge to shame, this album features eight acts that run the gamut from quirky playfulness (Toby Richardson) to hypnotic melodrama (My Majestic Star). Hidden Shoals’ impressive roster on A Million Square Miles is bound to shore up some buzz, and deservedly so: it’s an exhilarating listen from beginning to end.”
Adequacy.net

Apricot Rail “Pouring Milk” remix – Losing Today

Thea Porter — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:36:28 +0000

Excerpt: “So how exactly do you improve on near perfection…Entrusted with such an unenviable task of enhancing something without need of tinkering, Manzano pulls out the stops hooks the track up to his workbench and armed with his productive spanners strips the original back to its threadbare chassis and re-wires the skeletal frame with an enchanted wonderland workshop assortment of snow bound effects and lilting sleepy headed lullaby-esque texturing, the emerging recalibration bathed with a snoozing charm tranquillity seductively opines with the wide eyed sensitivity of Inch Time, the timid expressions of Landshipping and the bitter sweetly forlorn ache of the Shady Bard. Perfection perfected – can’t say fairer than that.”

LosingToday

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – PopMatters

Thea Porter — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:23:38 +0000

Excerpt: “The sun-splashed instrumental rock Apricot Rail delivers on its 2009 self-titled LP isn’t all-bombast all the time. Rather, the Australian outfit structures carefully these colorful compositions, so that woodwinds, strings, and dusty organ sounds are as critically important to the final product as the countless treble-heavy guitar tracks… At nearly six-and-a-half minutes, “Halfway House” begins somewhat like a prog-techno track, with prodding percussion and a micro patter of sound before everything comes together—large and small—in a development that showcases some of the most interesting moments this record has to offer. Apricot Rail does the Big Thing well, but these five talents just don’t need to rely on it.”

PopMatters

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Rave Magazine

Thea Porter — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:13:27 +0000

Excerpt: “It provides powerful, focused guitar swells as in Wadnama, but also introspective, vaguely electronic keyboard and glockenspiel deliberations on tracks like Trout Fishing In Australia. Vocals are used sparingly but effectively on Car Crash, which sports husky male/female harmonies… Flute, clarinet, melodica and trumpet round-out the arrangements, layering melodies and creating tremendous variety amongst the songs. Imagine the ethereal pop of early Múm, the whimsy of Sigur Rós’ more optimistic moments, and (occasionally) the emotional edge of The Twilight Sad. This is consummate indie post-rock laced with Australiana, and well worth checking out.”

Rave Magazine

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Drum Media

Thea Porter — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:42:29 +0000

Excerpt: “Their self-titled album is a very poignant and layered affair; a piece of art that attempts to paint pictures with ambient noise, chiming chords, simple brass and the occasional glock. At times the music is soft and introverted, as the elegantly titled ‘If You Can’t Join Them, Beat Them’, while at others songs take a more urgent, somewhat heavy approach such as opener ‘A Public Space’… The lads [and lass!] have put together the foundations for a very interesting record… they should be highly commended.”

Drum Media

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Leonard’s Lair

Thea Porter — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:50:48 +0000

Excerpt: “Australian-based label Hidden Shoal Recordings have unearthed a number of great talents around the world in recent years. With Apricot Rail, the label have stuck with their countrymen who have produced an interesting, largely instrumental debut… the use of woodwind instruments provide a pastoral beauty and by third track, ‘If You Can’t Join Them, Beat Them’ the Perth outfit nail an individual sound with aching melodies to the fore.”

Leonard’s Lair

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Luna Kafé

Thea Porter — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:12:49 +0000

Excerpt: “Apricot Rail make their debut with an almost purely instrumental self-titled album, which, if it wasn’t for the lightness, easily would be labelled post-rock. But charmingly enough Apricot Rail doesn’t make it that easy. [A] delicate, and somewhat melancholic yet playful approach.”

Luna Kafé

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Xpress

Thea Porter — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:42:35 +0000

Excerpt: “It is not the fact that they are a mainly instrumental act with their feet firmly in the post rock camp that is the surprise, the thing that sets them apart is just how damn good they are for a band that are so young…Apricot Rail’s debut album is the type that should be listened to in its entirety, but that is not to discount the isolated moments of sheer beauty contained within.”

Xpress

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Cyclic Defrost

tim — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:19:33 +0000

Excerpt: “Apricot Rail has this post rock instrumental lark down pat. As if some fresh breezes wafted down from the West Australian wheat belt this quintet play the line between rock, instrumental soundscape and a border edged skirmish with pop and experimental… It is almost as if on their first outing they have achieved a ‘mature sound’ without having to go through the teething stages of raw visceral grunge… With the interesting tunings of the guitar, the giddy delight of intricacies and nuance of instrument voices, an excellent hold on movement between stylistic patterns as flourishes and displays of control Apricot Rail seem intent to prove that rock and roll may not die but may well usurp itself into the academy.”

Cyclic Defrost

Apricot Rail “Apricot Rail” – Textura

tim — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:04:55 +0000

Excerpt: “In the same way that any new release from kranky and n5MD guarantees a recording of high quality, anything coming from the Hidden Shoal camp is likewise to be music of a high calibre. And so it is that its latest roster addition, Apricot Rail, delivers an album of exceptionally full-bodied ‘instrumental rock’… the Australian quintet knows what it takes to make a strong impression—passionate playing, compositional smarts, arresting arrangements, and a knack for catchy melodies—all of which the band delivers on its self-titled, fifty-minute debut… If multi-hued post-rock packed with chiming guitars and beautified with woodwinds and horns is your thing, Apricot Rail’s debut collection is definitely worth a closer look.”

Textura

Apricot Rail – Drum Media (CD of the Week)

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:07:11 +0000

Apricot Rail succeed where so many other post-rock bands fail because they’re able to get to the point. What genre-defining bands like Explosions In The Sky take eight or nine minutes to do Apricot Rail are capable of in three and a half. This impeccable sense for the immediacy of great pop structures is arguably one of their biggest assets, and is displayed masterfully on their debut album. It’s a great formula, and they’ve nailed it here on more than one occasion, whilst maintaining an eclectic approach to texture and timbre.

‘If You Can’t Join Them, Beat Them’ morphs from delicate traipse to amiable jaunt to full-on ecstatic rush, in just over four minutes, and on ‘Trout Fishing In Australia’ the band’s penchant for melodic overload is complemented by skittering processed beats and Múm-like strings and horns. There’s an overwhelming sense of hope and lightness to their compositions, and thanks to the brevity of most of the tracks here, they carry the listener on a dreamy flight of fancy that flits gently from one airy mood to another. Only on the eight-plus minute ‘Wadnama’ do the band sink their teeth into more predictably epic here of dynamics. The flute-tastic ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ is like an optimistic summer afternoon and ‘Halfway House’ adds burbling electronics to the band’s signature sound of guitar harmonics and urgent rhythms.

The album’s (and arguably the band’s) crowning achievement has to be ‘The Parachute Failure’- it’s spine-tinglingly anthemic and really leaps out at the listener. It so beautifully epitomises the band’s key strengths, as evidenced throughout this remarkable debut – powerful and emotive melodies that engage through the push and pull of delicate restraint and blissful abandon In a word: lovely.

Adam Trainer, Drum Media (Perth)

Apricot Rail ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ – Luna Kafe

tim — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:06:16 +0000

Excerpt: “Apricot Rail do sound a bit like Mogwai meets Múm… This is a song growing in intensity, and a song growing on you every time you spin it. File under ‘happy-sadness’. Skip ‘post’, let’s just say ‘modern music’.”

Luna Kafe

Apricot Rail Live @ Velvet Lounge – Faster Louder

tim — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:45:33 +0000

Excerpt: “A hush fell upon the room as guitarist Jack Quirk laid down a twinkling riff, which his fellow band members proceeded to unwrap carefully by sending layer after complementary layer into the crowd. Clarity descended upon the room – the kind of clarity that only clean, pure sound can bring – as the audience nodded appreciatively to the strolling-in-the-sunshine beat… Hopeful as summer sunrise, yet laced with a sense of childhood nostalgia, the charming music of Apricot Rail soon had the audience spellbound… Whilst its music triggers immediate comparisons to post-rock giants such as Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai, Apricot Rail brings a distinct quaintness to this increasingly popular and diverse genre… this is a band who may soon be taking the express route to high esteem.”

Faster Louder

Apricot Rail ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ – Losing Today

tim — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:49:28 +0000

Excerpt: “Like some previously lost pastoral beauty from a quieter more mellowed and tranquil moment from an early 70’s woodland rustic folk scene captured and frozen in time resurfacing and awakening from deep sleep, ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ yearns and yawns softly rising from its daydreaming slumber, longingly subdued and sumptuously braided by the nature bound cascade of a delicately side winding clarinet solo that’s underpinned by the affectionate lull of sighing like tumbling post rock cascades, this shyly retiring gem is predisposed to a seductive spectral / ethereal head bowed beauty much reminiscent of the Grails in more tender moments.”

Losing Today

Apricot Rail ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ – Puddlegum

tim — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:43:10 +0000

Excerpt: “a fresh new band to cherish our downtempo moments… a rich atmosphere… standing out with the soft touch of clarinet over instrumental post-rock”

Puddlegum

Apricot Rail ‘Pouring Milk Out The Window’ – Even In The Future Nothing Works

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:50:33 +0000

Excerpt - “When Apricot Rail play live, you kind of nod your head slowly, well, it’s not really a nod it’s more a progression of their sound. Then when one of their beautiful choruses hits, it is possessive. On my first listen to this single, I felt just like their live shows make me feel, which is a rare quality. They don’t “rock” so much as make you thank yourself that you’re listening to them at any given time. It’s like walking around in a beautiful forest, looking up at autumn leaves falling, and feeling the delicate promise of rain.”

Even In The Future Nothing Works

Apricot Rail – Love Is My Velocity

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:21:35 +0000

Excerpt: “The might of, I dunno, Mogwai is still there, but the charm of Múm is also present. They paint mountains in broad strokes but afterwards they take time to put in Sherpas and goats partying on the cliff face. That’s how I like my monumental arms of guitar served up – gigantic but also tiny”

From the Love Is My Velocity Cookbook

Apricot Rail Live – Xpress

Hidden Shoal Recordings — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:03:54 +0000

Excerpt: “The perfect soundtrack to some time-lapse Belgian art-house film about clouds or migrating ducks”

Xpress