Review: Go March Show Promise On "Lighthouse"

Music

I want you to experience what I did after receiving an email from a trusted source.

The press release states that “Go March are the best new band to come out of Belgian's underground scene.”

"Sludgy post rock alongside modular electronics and krautrock. Somewhere between Battles, Mogwai or Harmonia”

After reading that how can you not press play?

Sounding like Holy Fuck having a bash at some German Motorik covers, Go March cut a powerful figure. Hypnotic rhythms inter splice with devastating melodies and enough swagger to make Bobbie Gillespie take pointers. Go March say their music is “Tunnel-Vision” but it’s far more complex than that. Yes there is an element of tunnel vision: each song progresses and the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter. You could argue that on each track the members don’t really do a great deal, expect repeat riffs and loops. However, what is clear is that their ear for composition is second to none.

"Lighthouse" opens with the sound of revving synths. It lets us know they’re ready before a playful Northern Soul-esque loop kicks in and slowly builds tension until "Lighthouse" breaks and the true nature of the song is realised. As "Lighthouse" draws to a close everything gets tighter and more urgent, almost as if their lives depended on getting to the end in one piece.

Go March occupy that world where abstract ideas meets conceptual music, but the results are anything but palpable. Given the strength of "Lighthouse" and their previous single "Rise", it's unsurprising to discover that Go March’s debut album is a total beast. The only worry is that the songs don’t collapse under their weighty riffs and rhythms. Had it been released earlier i it would surely have graced many end of year lists. If you are looking for something ephemera, this probably isn’t for you. However if you are looking something that transmutes and figures before your ears, then this is definitely for you.