Sometimes a band will come along with an album for which the term ‘release’ doesn’t do it justice and should rather be called an ‘epic achievement’.
Both members of mathy rockin’ math rock two-piece Land Wars aren’t native to London, where they met and have since left. Seán McDaid (drums) hails from Ireland but currently lives in Sweden, while Cristiano De Petrillo (guitar) is Italian and has now returned to his motherland.
So how did Land Wars come to happen? Well, story has it, the duo met over some arguments on an online music forum, subsequently deciding to try to put their differences aside and put their skills together instead. Now if you ever get a chance to meet these characters you will understand me when I say they are like a classic comedy duo (I spent ArcTanGent with these two this year and it was never dull). Seán is an intense, boisterous bloke while Cris is a humble, gentle kind of guy. When both come together they are relentlessly entertaining with their unlikely bro-ship, smashing out some of the most playfully complex, tight-knit math rock around – comparable to their contemporaries Floral and Standards.
So how are Land Wars still a thing? Chemistry, perseverance and, quite possibly, record producer Thomas Le Beau Morley (Delta Sleep, Steve Strong, FES) – who was the first to mention these dudes to me back in 2016 after he recorded their first two songs, ‘Magpie’ and ‘Landers’ (both also included on the album). They stuck with him for their following full-length, writing songs by sending each other parts over the internet and then meeting to practice ad nauseam before recording.
It has seemed almost impossible to finish this process, with the geographical relocations and extra delays in the production (Thom once said that Land Wars themselves didn’t even realise how complicated their music is), but lo and behold that time has finally come and we are so happy to present it to you now. The blood, sweat and tears have paid off. Land Wars are here to stay.
Catch them on tour in Italy and the UK this month. Also check out the video below to see them action, playing a noticeably faster version of ‘G-Fun’, and go to their Bandcamp page to get the album when hits all fronts on the 4th of December.
