Columboid - We Were One

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4...according to our Business Lady on Thu 09 Jun, 2011.

Columboid score the soundtrack to the end of days...they are the bringers of death...they are the answer to my Gothic dreams. Formed around the nucleus of singer/keyboardist Ryan Hamilton in his NYC basement back in 2009 and joined by Benjamin (Drums, Vocals) and Russell Higbee (Hamilton's PA childhood friend, ex-Coyote band mate, and main Man- Man) on bass Columboid create '...an unholy alliance between music and technology'. Columboid's sound is primarily anchored by Hamiliton's vocal delivery that sits somewhere between the two Gothic Ians; Astbury and Curtis. It edges more toward Astbury and at times drifts into hyper melodic vocal drones reminiscent of that Thom 'trout smack' Yorke lad. Musically the band are on an '80s gothic downer building tracks from fractured sawtooth synth tones and Siouxsie And The Banshees-esque rhythmic arrangements. Occasionally it also hints at the high drama of Kate Bush in her earliest incarnations. Total night beats. Perfect with a strong cup of coffee, twenty strong cigarettes and outright contempt for human life.

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In these times of digital revolution, darkness and depression, We Were One, the debut album by Columboid, is our saviour. Shattering orthodox approaches, their brand of brooding anthems are a cross between the heightened awareness of Nick Cave and the darkly sexy, throbbing keyboards and twisted party-times of TV On The Radio. There's an air of the lost, and unfortunately forgotten, Add N To X as well - an unholy alliance between music and technology. Columboid are forging their own path, creating a soundtrack to the apocalypse. The lyrics echo this - a stream of consciousness that reflect Ryan Hamilton's (Keys,Vocals) abstract approach to writing - open to interpretation at both the birth and death of life itself. In January of 2009, Neil Benjamin and Ryan Hamilton stepped into a basement in Queens, New York. Without having a sense of what the music would sound like or who would be playing what instrument, they almost immediately created their first song, "Statehoarders". It became the precedent of chemistry that Columboid (named before the first practice) would establish and a full set of dirty primal-synth new wave minimalism followed suit. After an initial stint as two-piece, Hamilton (Keys,Vocals) and Benjamin (Drums,Vocals) soon added Russell Higbee (Hamiltion's PA childhood friend, ex-Coyote band mate, and main Man- Man) on Bass. No strangers to all things DIY, they recorded on Benjamin's laptop in December of '09 and released the songs as their debut cassette tape, Cruise on your Own. Their first proper studio recorded release We Were One is set for release, naturally, by La Société Expéditionnaire.If 2011 does welcome the end of the world, I know what I'll be listening to as we go down - We Were One is the battle cry, a clarion call into the ether offering hope and good times. That's all we can ask for. The band includes past and current members of Vaz, Man Man, Lewis & Clarke, Coyote, Holy Fallout. Limited Edition 12" colored vinyl. Selected US Press: "... a dark, moody record that carefully slinks through percussion-heavy, keyboard-driven pop and rock balladry .." OMG Vinyl // "..woozy, skewed schizo pop" The Dedibel Tolls // "That minimalist post-punk that echoed from the walls of Magazine and Television, ring forth through the songs of Columboid. It’s amazing just how easy they make it sound." ZapTown Magazine // UK press by Meg Greenhorn at Cherry Red.