Sunday 11 March 2018

ERAI

BandERAI
GenresPunk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Ambient
Related artists?.
CountryBerlin GERMANY
Years Active2016-present
Song: "Karen"
Album: "Erai"
Year: 2017
For fans ofThe Saddest LandscapeSinaloa, Life At These SpeedsPettersson, Via Fondo, Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket, Descubriendo A Mr. Mime, We Never Learned To Live, Viva Belgrado, La Parade, Rinoa, La Ciencia, Desidia, Shirokuma, Stop It!!, Todos Caerán, Meteors The Entire Night, Aviator, Careless, Drowning With Our Anchors and We Had A Deal aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): ?
This post's artist is from the February 2018 Mix. This is track #8.
You can download: the March 2018 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2018 Mix#4 here.

Part dreamy and part driving, I think Berlin's ERAI could be likened to the spaciness of Pettersson mixed together with the power of The Saddest Landscape. They are a very new band but released a notable EP last year, that is to say, 2017. I'll go through the songs quickly.

Opener "Standing on the shoulders of giants" is a decent introduction to the band but lacks the punch and catchiness of the later tunes. It's got some very cool guitarwork and spoken-word vocals but as a whole it doesn't get me salivating like "And I Took My Time" does, as it has a very post-hardcore/screamo akin to Vi Som Älskade Varandra Så Mycket and Descubriendo A Mr. Mime's new 12" 'f'. It's very chill but groovy at the same time, and after the spoken word break the songs kicks in at 2:40 with a very interesting stop/start bass smashing and beautiful single guitar line that permeates everything. "Mirror" has clean singing that brings Rinoa, We Never Learned To Live and the new Locktender 12" 'Friedrich' to mind and is pretty epic without getting crushing or chuggy or anything like that. Maybe the fact that the song surpasses seven minutes is the primary reason it feels epic. "Karen" is next and is arguably the strongest track on the album, although I may argue with myself and save that title is reserved for track two. Anyhoos, silly brain, I like how the vocals take on a sweeping talking/singing that gives it its own flair, and when combined with the huge instrumentals and cascading transitions it takes the song to the next level. It's kind of like No Motiv meets The Saddest Landscape. "Memorial" is short and sweet, barely surpassing the two-and-a-half minute mark. Again...with those vocals, all I hear is The Saddest Landscape, although this track does employ some opposing dual vocals to change it up a bit. Closer "Sanguine, sinking in" is a huge closer, taking the listener on a ride for over 9-and-a-half minutes. It's a good song and all, as well as a fitting closer, but I still feel like ERAI shone most on track two's "And I Took My Time". The name is rather humorous now that I make the assertion that "And I Took My Time" is actually quite dense, and at half the time it does a much better job than the closer at grabbing my attention and keeping it. Plus it's just a straight up better song.

I'm interested to see what road they travel down next, cuz it could be hella sweet.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2017 - Erai EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2017) ERAI - "And I Took My Time" (from 'Erai')

(2017) ERAI - "Karen" (from 'Erai')

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ERAI additional links
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