Track Review: 65daysofstatic – “Come To Me” (feat. Robert Smith)

[Monotreme; 2011]

Since their inception in 2001, the instrumental band from Sheffield, England known as 65daysofstatic have released three albums that have placed them as one of the premier post-rock bands in the decade. Their fourth album entitled We Were Exploding Anyway, shows the quartet pushing their sound towards a different direction. As each album progressed, they began to incorporate a more electronic sound and using less organic instruments.

Even though the album was released last year in Europe, it was only available digitally to those in North America. On October 25th, they will officially be releasing We Were Exploding Anyway in a deluxe edition package that will include their latest EP, Heavy Sky, exclusive to North America via Monotreme Records.

“Come to Me” is the first single from the album and features Robert Smith (yes, from The Cure) laying down the vocals for the track. The first three minutes of the song opens with electronic bells playing over a single-stroke cymbal roll until Smith’s vocals come into play. His vocals clearly aren’t at the forefront of the track, as it is repetitive lyrically and rather faint, haunting along in the background. Rather, it’s the instrumentation that steals the spotlight. The piano melody, sampled strings, blistering guitar riffs, and the pounding drums show that the band hasn’t abandoned their post-rock roots. In fact, “Come to Me” sounds like it should belong in The Destruction of Small Ideas rather than We Were Exploding Anyway. Nonetheless, “Come to Me” is the kind of sound that 65daysofstatic should stick to – combining post-rock melodies with electronic sensibilities.

8/10