Years of Rice & Salt are a dark ambient post-rock/folk band from London who formed in Summer 2008. The band take their name from a Buddhist/Islamic alternative history science fiction novel, and have just released their Service Bell EP remastered concept album on the futurerecordings label. The mini-album, weighing in at 32 minutes and four tracks, revolves conceptually around a shipwreck. The recordings possess everything post-rock music should, plus some stunning and totally appropriate vocals.
The Years of Rice & Salt drummer Milo Marsei has just completed his scratchy visual interpretation of Flashes of Warmth to accompany the totally free album. The 4 track release makes a very firm and strong statement about what this band are capable of arranging in what, in context, is clearly a very short period of time.
The music they put together is bleak but instrumentally complex, their sound is electrified in places and intensifies as the 32 minute EP progresses. Parts are very upbeat and almost danceable - particularly around the second minute of Splendid Isolation, not something you'd expect from a track with such name. It is the positive parts of the EP where their folky influences really shine through and these parts, and the downbeat sections which usually follow, are some of the EP's highlights. The Years of Rice and Salt are a very encouraging addition to the current roster of British post-rock bands, and with no quoted influences, a myspace self-description as 'nu post rock' and an excellent free EP on the internet, things can only get better for The Years of Rice & Salt.
You can buy the Service Bell EP on CD from futurerecordings HERE, visit the MYSPACE, download Occasional Flashes of Warmth below, or watch that track's video above via Youtube.
Years of Rice & Salt - Occasional Flashes of Warmth (MP3) (from the Service Bell EP)
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