Offshore But Still In Sight
Justin S. Lukenbill | 01/13/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For a progressive-indie album that contains only 37.5 minutes, "Offshore" can almost do what any 1970's Pink Floyd or any Impulse-era John Coltrane recording does in about the same amount of time: places the listener in the swing of clock-ignoring artistic arrestment.
Floyd and Coltrane are big comparisons, yes, but the mood that Early Day Miners capture with this movement leaves the mainland of typical under-the-radar music and prooves that this 'little engine that could' of a band can launch indie expectations to higher standards.
Given that founder Dan Burton has shaped amazing records in the recent past with EDM, "Offshore" is a new direction and thus may be a direct nod to the chosen name of this recording. The ideas set forth here very much sail this brand of music offshore, although it doesn't get very much past the harbor to reach the waters of classic recordings.
Like other EDM releases, the production value is top notch and the music smoothly oscillates between building waves of loud/light/loud/light structures. The album itself is bookended with two high volume instrumentals of clean wild guitars supported by driving percussion and steady bass lines. The middle tracks are lyrical songs, two of which are smartly outsourced to a female singer. The result is a wall-of-sound collection of musicians who stay true to Burton's destination of musical execution. For those in the know, there is an obvious reason why, hands down, this band is Secretly Canadian's most innovative and iconoclastic band to date and they are deserving of a 4 star rating (in the indie sense).
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Euphoria
Jeff Warrington | Los Angeles, CA | 08/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"That's about the only word I can use to describe Dan Burton/EDM's new CD Offshore. The group is tighter than ever, and the production is fantastic. Why these guys aren't the biggest band in the world, I'll never know. If you haven't heard anything by them before, this CD is a great place to start. "Sans Revival" is the stand-out track. Do yourself a favor and check it out."