Austin Sound

Stories occasionally surface of actors who, attempting to capture the essence of a role, are incapable of letting go of their new persona— unable to immediately “switch off,” they retain the language and mannerisms of some past character even after the final cut. Austin’s Ghost of the Russian Empire, with their first full length, “The Mammoth,” encounter a similar pitfall—after establishing their own spectral, mournful shoegaze sound, the band refuses to move on or cover new ground.

Starting with the entrancing “Decade Without a Death,” GOTRE wears their influences on the sleeves of their greatcoats, opening with what sounds like the intro to a Godspeed, You! Black Emperor album before the tempo picks up, unfolding into a fast paced, haunting affair. Each snare hit drives the band forward as delayed rhythm guitar meets ultra-reverbed vocals, making the band seem ten feet underwater, a sound that continues for the remainder of the album.

5/1/08

Tomorrow night, Ghost of the Russian Empire release their debut full-length The Mammoth at Emo’s. In conjunction with the release, they have made a video for the song “A Decade Without Death,” which presents some noirish spy games, complete with hilarious Russian subtitles.

The video was made by Matt Muir of Austin-based Revelator Productions, which has previously been responsible for excellent local videos from Tammany Hall Machine and Chili Cold Blood. Check out his work for Ghost of the Russian Empire below:

Every now and then we have to step back and take stock of some releases that have slipped by us recently. Most recently, we’ve felt the need to give some belated attention to Ghost of the Russian Empire’s impressive With Fiercest Demolition EP, Skiefalling’s debut of experimental ambient tones and, as they get ready to release a new album, Tia Carrera’s self-titled release from last October. So although all three of these were released last year, they have endured well into this one, and we didn’t want to let them get by without giving them some notice. And so we offer you: The Review Roundup!