Math rock is by nature an unpredictable genre. But some bands just want to take it that extra mile.
Ground Patrol is Kyle Sanna (guitar) and Alon Ilsar (drums), a duo based between New York and Sydney, Australia. The band specialize not only in left-of-center math rock, but improv left-of-center math rock. Now, you’d be forgiven if you think that sounds tautologous (irregular music subjected to the irregularity of improvised music?). It encompasses Ground Patrol’s ostensible plan: an exploration of sound is the mission; improv is the execution, math rock is the outcome.
The band’s newest video ‘RUN’ lays out the proof in the pudding. Kyle stacks conventional guitar melodies atop each other like oddly fitting tetris blocks. Alon explores an array of different rhythms to complement and contrast Kyle’s contributions. Together, the melody and rhythm oscillate along different wavelengths, connecting and disconnecting. There’s the idea of a coherent song amongst these enmeshed sounds, but it’s not readily forthcoming. It’s an elusive and cerebral pleasure.
In RUN you’re not just getting a soaring performance, you’re experiencing music as it is not so often experienced. Ground Patrol are re-igniting the fading flames of bands like Storm And Stress, Don Caballero and Ahleuchtistas as they dismantle the familiarities of music and prance around their deconstructed form.
You can throw your money at Ground Patrol’s brand new EP ‘SEARCH’, now available for pre-order via the Art As Catharsis Bandcamp page. And make sure to fan ’em on Facebook.