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Natural Snow Buildings

If there's ONE thing I hate more than hype... it's when the hype is justified. I might have only recently heard of this french girl/guy duo of Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte, but already people are ripping each others heads of to obtain copies of some of their works. That's because Natural Snow Buildings have the naughty habit of releasing their albums in microscopic editions and it seems that the more in demand they become, the less copies they make! Everything they've put out up until now has disappeared in a matter of minutes (literally!) and are automatically declared Holy Grails. This is the equivalent of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and their level of popularity, releasing an album in an edition of 50 or perhaps 100. This is one of those rare cases where I actually condone downloading the band's albums for free on blogs across the web. I mean, why keep such wonderful music away from the people? What's up with all this elitism? And why are they so in demand you ask? What's all the ruckus about? Simply put: this band is absolutely incredible! They've come up with some of the most exciting sounds to reach these ears in quite a while. I mentioned Godspeed You! Black Emperor earlier for a good reason. The duo have actually started their musical careers as yet another of the many mutant offsprings to come out of the Montreal collective's side, composing long progressive chamber rock jams, but with time, the two found their own sound and MAN!! is it ever devastating stuff! In fact, this is some of the best drone-oriented psychedelic-folk I've ever heard. Putting one of the duo's album on is a guaranteed head-trip to the farthest reaches of your mind. It can be quite scary at times, but also incredibly lovely and serene. The post-rock epithet might have been valid for the band's earlier recordings, but fear not, Natural Snow Buildings are the furthest thing from another Explosions In The Sky. I would prefer to compare them to a more distilled Vibracathedral Orchestra, keeping only the most effective moments for that most ecstatic of listening experiences. Another of the duo's characteristics is the extreme range of their track lengths. One track might be barely one minute long while the other will be just under an hour long and yet, both are always as overwhelmingly haunting and potent. I could go on about how great they sound, but I suggest you do the same thing I did and find yourselves a few albums to download and judge for yourselves. ALL fans of drone owe it to themselves to hunt down their music.

So what now though? You've now also become a fan and want to find your own copies. I don't want to bum anyone out, but that's practically impossible... unless you are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on them (which, I am ashamed to say I did!). It all depends on your level of obsession. I wasn't sure I wanted to give in to the hype myself, but here I am, after finally caving in, I've turned into yet another rabid fan who will rip your head off without blinking his eyes to get his hands on a copy of their releases (so beware if you plan on getting in my way! ;). What can I say!? With music this powerful, NSB are like finding a fresh water source in the middle of the desert.

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