Staff Reviews

Extra Life - Made Flesh

Review by Noel Gardner

Its crashing appropriations of metal are probably going to be a bit much for your Uncut-subscribing End Of The Road-attending sort. It deserves every bit of acclaim it gets, though.»

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extra life is the primary musical vehicle for charlie locker, singer, guitarist and composer, who has become one of the most intense and respected voices in the new york experimental underground. for years looker was a core member of legendary brutal chamber ensemble zs and has also worked with diverse artists such as dirty projectors, glenn branca, william parker and the sem ensemble. formed in 2007, extra life combines elements of medieval chant, metallic hardcore, dark neofolk, abstract modernism and lush pop. the music is cosmic in scope, a sacred alchemical marriage of the earth's crude, blackened weight and the ethereal light of the divine. extra life's all-star cast also includes the following new york experimentalists: violinist caley monahon-ward (snowblink), bassist anthony gedrich (stats, ocrilim), drummer nicholas podgurski (yukon), and saxophonist / keyboardist travis laplante (little women). in 2009 loaf recordings released extra life's debut full-length album 'secular works' in europe and the band did a month-long european tour, playing festivals including primavera sound (barcelona), villette sonique (france), kilbi (switzerland) and moers (germany) and sharing bills with sonic youth,
sunn 0))), my bloody valentine and deerhunter. now extra life's sophomore album 'made flesh' is released by loaf recordings worldwide. both more accessible and more severe than their previous work, the record extends from fragile acoustic ballads to industrial symphonic assaults. recorded by art-metal guru colin marston (krallice, behold the arctopus) in collaboration with extra life's own caley monahon-ward, the sound of made flesh deepens the band's signature heaviness while also exploring more psychedelic studio treatments, electronic textures and synths.
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