Sphaeras / Odradek – Sun Seeker Split EP

Split releases are a great record format for bands to put out music cost efficiently. If the bands appeal to the same audience, they can reach each others fans and get bonus exposure. Sometimes, but rarely, the split contains tracks that were written and recorded collaboratively. This is what Sphaeras and Odradek did on Sun Seeker. What’s outstanding is that Sphaeras are from Singapore, and Odradek are from Brazil.

So geographically speaking, both bands could barely live any further away from each other – but after all, we love listening to bands defying boundaries, don’t we? On the 8 track EP, each band contributes three own compositions plus two tracks playing together. Sphaeras are an instrumental outfit and their tracks ‘Coda’, ‘Dewgng’ and ‘Surias’ (featuring fellow Singaporean band Two Seas) emphasize their love for math rock with ethereal, melodic guitar sections and odd, yet grooving time signatures. Odradek on the other hand focus on heavily distorted guitars and dissonant riffage (especially on ‘Orla’), but also add pretty catchy sing-along choruses to the mix (‘Tétrico’).

After listening to their own tracks first, the distinctive qualities of both bands become very evident in their collab-tracks. And although both bands sound quite different on their own, they add up surprisingly well. I imagine it’s difficult to write something that doesn’t sound like separate bits and ideas merely stitched together, even more so when the artists are almost literally ten thousand miles apart. But Sphaeras and Odradek pulled it off. Sun Seeker is a formidable piece of work by two very talented bands that you should definitely keep an eye out for.