From a journalistic standpoint I hate bands like Other Passengers. Bands that refuse to stick to a particular genre for more than 30 seconds, whose music constantly evolves, expands to new territories without ever retreating. From the standpoint of a music fan, more relevant to you I guess, I love them.
On 'Sick Sick' the Brooklyn three-piece unleash a seven-minute acid-fried behemoth. Droning guitars clash with dirty drum rides over whispers, building to a crescendo after only two minutes when a single riff displaces the nervous yelping now smothering the track.
If you were to imagine a town where bands are roads then Other Passengers would cruise down Can Way, take a sharp left at Tool Lane before speeding down Comets On Fire Boulevard at 120 mph, only to crash into another vehicle after going through a red light at Acid Mothers Temple Junction. Sure, its a long journey that could have a more direct route and is not without the occasional dead-end, but it makes for a great road story.
'Sick Sick' is backed by a dälek remix of 'Wichita', with the song morphed so much that it wouldn't sound out of place on the remixers’ 2004 offering Absence, such is the extremity of the cloistering noise used to cover the track and new-found beats.
With a UK tour in May and an album to follow, anyone with a penchant for doom, drone and/or prog is advised not to let this one pass by. Find out why the other passengers are grinning like Cheshire Cats whilst holding on for their lives.
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8Jordan Dowling's Score