Epic45 - Slides
by Jonjo McNeill
published: 5 / 4 / 2007

Label:
Make Mine Music
Format: CD
intro
Unique and tender-sounding electro-tinged acoustic post-pop on reissued third album from British duo Epic45
Ben Holton and Rob Glover have made four albums as Epic45, 'Slides' being their fourth. A reissue of a 2004 CD-R album, it pulls together a beautiful and tender collection of electro-tinged acoustic post-pop, sounding all-at-once-but-not-really-at-all like Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian and at points even Blur. 'Inland Lakes' melds 80's synths with unusual percussive patterns to create an incredibly atmospheric introduction to a record. 'Sliding On Yr Knees' is a soothing fusion of synthetic drums and electric pianos, sounding more like Mogwai than anything here and '(Re)Sculpted By Nature' takes the atmospherics even further with a - quite frankly genius - electric guitar arpeggio forcing emotions as well as any vocal could. The synth string section adds further atmosphere, making the rest of the album meld into a soundscape in small pieces. 'History Vs Future' is a minimalistic blend of uber-bleak guitars and tripped out drums absolutely drenched in reverb. The album does lose its way slightly with 'Between Woodland' and 'An Afternoon Ahead', which seem like sketches for ideas rather than something which has been allowed to grow and develop fully. 'The Blue Of The Sky' gets the album back on track, however, with the simplistic musical textures of delayed drums and hidden layers. What's refreshing about this record is that it seems to have been crafted entirely inside a bubble. You could, if you really look, allocate influences to different areas of the record, but you'd probably be wrong. Epic45 sound like they only listen to what goes on in their heads. An album with absolutely no interest in fashion and style, how refreshing to hear something that you haven't already heard eighteen times already today. Every track could only be part of the one piece> Such is the vision of this record. I would imagine it hard to give a standout track or recommend a future single, 'Slides' truly is one of those records where the whole thing only works in context of the whole thing. A very good record, and now succeeded by their third album (don't ask), 'Slides' is definitely worth investigating. Epic45 won't be tearing up dancefloors and they won't sell many magazines, but these two quiet fellas are creating something exceptionally beautiful and undoubtedly unique.
Track Listing:-
1 Inland Lakes2 Slidin' on Your Knees
3 Looking Down a Hill
4 (Re) Sculpted by Winter
5 History vs the Future
6 Between Woodland
7 An Afternoon Ahead
8 The Blue of the Sky
9 Leaving
10 For Virginia Astley
11 Daylight Photography
12 Roads and Paths
13 Nearly Home
most viewed articles
current edition
John McKay - InterviewCathode Ray - Interview
Robert Forster - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Spear Of Destiny - Interview
Fiona Hutchings - Interview
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Chris Wade - Interview
Shrag - Huw Stephens Session 08.12.10 and Marc Riley Session 21.03.12
Brian Wilson - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
most viewed reviews
current edition
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a CircleVinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Vultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
John McKay - Sixes and #Sevens
Little Simz - Lotus
HAIM - I Quit
Pulp - More
Lapsley - I'm a Hurricane, I'm a Woman In Love
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart