Review: Yellow6 – STHLM

I don’t tend to count how many reviews I’ve written for a single act but there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve written more about Yellow6 then anyone else in the music scene. The reasons are two-fold: firstly, Jon Attwood is an extremely prolific musician and secondly his music is ace. Touching on the influences of two of the finest post-rock acts, Labradford and Bark Psychosis, his output continues to impress. ‘STHLM’, his latest release, takes in some recordings from an autumn spent in Sweden, from the same sessions as this year’s double album ‘When The Leaves Fall Like Snow’.

Attwood’s languid guitar and effects-based compositions tend to suit the longer format very well. So it’s a surprise to learn that ‘STHLM’ is less than forty minutes long, even considering there’s only five tracks on there.  ‘FYRA’ and ‘8 Days’ tread the well-worn path of Labradford’s minimalist melancholy but there’s sufficient variety here too.  ‘Kulturhuset’ throbs menacingly; always holding back just as it’s about to explode. In contrast, ‘3 Em’ is almost disarmingly pretty, not a description normally associated with Attwood’s melodies. Finally, the violence threatened earlier breaks through as the walls of noise from ‘No Common Understanding’ bring events to a harrowing close. Considering these offerings didn’t make it on the last album, ‘STHLM’ is as deeply satisfying as any recent Yellow6 material I’d care to mention.

Web Sites:
Yellow6 Official Site
Yellow6 MySpace
Distant Noise Records Label Site

Further Listening:
Labradford, Absent Without Leave

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