2012 » inFictions

Echoes and Dust Review

May 092012

I tend to rant a lot about genre classification (see: anything I’ve ever written) and how needless it is most of the time. Thus, when I saw that Sheffield’s inFictions classified themselves as ‘post-progressive’ I got a little worried about the content of their debut release.

It’s the ‘post-‘ prefix, the seemingly ever-present grammatical parasite that plagues almost all of my favourite music. Needless to say, I approached ‘Maps of Revenge and Forgiveness’ with extreme caution, but (happily) found myself thoroughly impressed.

From the beginning the listener is kept guessing, with album opener ‘This Road Leads To The Village Of Informers’ starting like a lion and ending like a lamb. The intricacies of this band are apparent instantly, bridging the right amount of heaviness with a closing reverie that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the record.

This is a long player chock full of intrigue and depth, swooping between colossal sonic explorations, soft, eerie sections and some genuinely uplifting riffage. Theatrics aren’t amiss here either, with the expansive vocal style of Ed Cartledge delivering some truly creepy moments.

From http://echoesanddust.com/2012/05/infictions-maps-of-revenge-and-forgiveness/

review by Eoin Boylan

We’re treated to a huge range of styles at times, one minute we’re in a standard indie album, while the next we’ve been transported to a late 90s Candlemass gig (see the end section of ‘The Silence of the Sea’), having reached our destination through indie, post(grrr)-rock and even some gypsy folk stylings.

There are also nods towards bands like Oceansize throughout, especially in The Cell, however there is so much more here, including some blatant Mogwai/Aereogramme influence in the wonderful ‘1st Intersection’, playing on the quiet/loud format with a slightly more melodic touch.

Despite these comparisons, it’s hard to really fit this band into a niche; they borrow from so many different styles in so many clever ways that classification is impossible.

InFictions have crafted 11 songs that will intrigue and mesmerize, and like every great album, it gets better with repeat listens. It really does have everything. With my worries dispelled and my headphones on, I’m truly hooked to this band and this record and I’m sure you will be to.

So I hereby take my hat off to them for being suitably vague in their ‘post-progressive’ tag. Don’t worry lads; I don’t know what genre you are either!

Available now from In-Fictions.co.uk

Audioscribbler Album Review

Tagged with: aereogramme, audioscribbler, inFictions, muse, oceansize, porcupine tree, radiohead, review, sheffield, yorkshire

May 042012

Here’s another review from the fantastic ‘Audioscribbler’ blog -

“One thing that is plainly obvious with inFictions is that they’ve certainly listened to some good records over the years.

They don’t sound like copyists, by any stretch of the imagination, but the imprint of bands like Aereogramme and Oceansize is discernible in their quest to create vivid, mood driven music. If those bands were the last key innovators of British progressive/post/blurring-the-lines music then inFictions, alongside bands like Revere and Flights, are hopefully representing a new wave.

Nine More Lies, guitarist Ed Carteledge’s old band, had already dabbled with fantastical Buckley-esque vocals, and his voice certainly has a magnificent quiver that adds to the haunting effect that Maps of Revenge & Forgiveness tries to create. If there is a concept running through inFictions’ debut, then crime and penance must surely be it. Amidst the melancholic haze, there are occasional musical and lyrical outbursts that appear out of nowhere, like an individual going mad (“You’re still alive in a darkened cell. Chances are you’ll remain kicking at the walls ’til the end of days.”).

And inFictions’ main strength is definitely mood-setting. ‘Frozen River’ features eerie tremolo guitar next to off-beat piano chords, while ‘Laughter Track’ recalls Porcupine Tree with its inventive chord progressions and guitar interplay. Perhaps you could accuse them of labouring their crescendos slightly – by the time we reach track 6, ‘Orchards’, you feel like you’ve heard the percussive build-ups a few times already. They wind up a little bit better than they wind down.

The Yorkshire trio aren’t in a rush to burst our their collective shell, which is positive, but it also means you appreciate the intense guitar-driven climaxes of ‘The Silence of the Sea’ and ‘Line Drawings’. Maybe they should be a little more direct, after all, the beautifully melodic ‘The Cell’ is arguably the strongest track of all. Having said that, this debut is more of a whiff of what is to come than a game-changer. Their sound isn’t greatly accessible in today’s impatient musical climate, but fans of Muse, Radiohead et al should keep tabs on this band.”

Review by Jonathan Rimmer

http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/infictions-maps-of-revenge-forgiveness/

Album Review

Tagged with: Exposed, Feeder, inFictions, review, sheffield, Springsteen

Apr 022012

Today’s news (yesterday’s chip paper)

Mar 152012

With a few small amendments

Maps of Revenge and Forgiveness: OUT NOW

Tagged with: album release, alternative, inFictions, newmusic, out now, post-rock, progressive rock, sheffield

Feb 222012

The debut album by inFictions was released on Mon 20th Feb on intersectional records.

Limited edition, hand-packaged CDs (with artwork booklet and badge) are available from http://www.in-fictions.co.uk/shop

Digital versions are available from all the usual online stores (iTunes, Amazon, Play etc).

The album has been 3 years in the making and features the contributions of 8 different drummers, 5 different studios (7 different producer/engineers) and a host of additional musicians and arrangers.

You can hear samples at www.last.fm/music/infictions

You can follow the band @inFictions on Twitter

You can like the band at http://www.facebook.com/inFictionsMusic

And you can watch videos at http://www.youtube.com/infictions

Maps of Revenge and Forgiveness: The Launch Event – 18th Feb

Tagged with: Album, inFictions, Maps of Revenge and forgiveness

Jan 112012

Sat Feb 18th at Harland Cafe (formerly Cafe Euro) on John Street, Sheffield (near Bramall Lane Football Ground).

7:30pm-11pm

Free entry but you must be on guest-list due to limited places. Email for a maximum of 3 tickets.

Event includes a full play through of the album, an exhibition of the artwork produced to accompany the album and live acoustic music by inFictions, Anna Haigh and Early Cartographers.

1st Album Review

Tagged with: Album, inFictions, Maps of Revenge and forgiveness, review

Jan 112012

Just ahead of the launch of our new album on the 20th Feb 2012, we’ve been sending out copies for review.

An excerpt follows from our first review, by Love Music, Love Life – click to read the full review.

With a sound that’s reminiscent to the likes of Radiohead and Editors; inFictions have clearly found their niche. Opening track This Road Leads to the Village of Informers commences the album with an intense build up that later introduces us to the soulful voice of lead singer Ed Cartledge. The track leads on to Frozen River, one that is particularly striking. It becomes apparent now that this is a conceptual album, designed to tell a story. It’s the track which really hooks listeners, leaving it hard not to become engrossed. It most definitely creates a dramatic atmosphere; one that actually makes 1920’s silent movies, spring to mind! The styling of the lyrics, the vocals and the instruments, make it the ideal soundtrack to a tragedy movie. “A prisoner of his sins he now waits…” “The only way it can end, is how it begins.”

Film Music Commission for inFictions

Jan 112012

While promoting and launching the debut album (album available from 20th Feb 2010), inFictions are also going to be kept busy composing and producing a piece of ‘glockenspiel-heavy’ instrumental music for use in a short film about origami and the dilemmas faced by major funding organisations. Random but true. I’m sure it will get posted here at some point.
Ed.

Interview with Ed Cartledge (Songwriter/Vocals/Guitars)

Tagged with: Album, inFictions, Maps of Revenge and forgiveness

Jan 112012

Ed Cartledge

When I started working on building the new website for inFictions, I spoke to Ed Cartledge to get some background info. Here is what he said.

How long has the album taken to produce?

We started work on this album in 2009 and indeed the basis of a couple the tracks were recorded as far back as then, although have had a big overhaul since. One of the reasons for it taking so long has been the inconsistency of our line-up. We’ve worked with 8 different drummers over the course of these 3 years, some for much longer than others, but none have managed to stick around long enough to appear on more than 2 tracks on the album or do more than a handful of gigs with us. Still, we’re happy with the way things worked out: the diversity of drum styles on the album is one of the things we really like about it. We eventually threw the towel in and decided to try and work without a permanent drummer for the time being. Any live performances will require one or more session drummers to help us out, but that’s fine – we’ve got a few offers on the table for that.

I guess another reason has been my determination that we don’t include any ‘filler’ tracks on the album. At least 5 songs that we initially thought very strong and played live repeatedly eventually worked their way to the back of the line and then dropped away….possibly to be revisited again in future, who knows. The pursuit of perfection is a waste of time, but there’s no reason to be lazy and let things through that might be embarrassing.

Could you explain the ‘album artwork project’ that you organised?

When we approached the final mixes, we also needed to start thinking about packaging, websites, social media etc. I had the idea of collaborating with a range of local artists to create a visual hook for the album. At the time, we had no visuals at all, just sounds. We didn’t have to do an enormous amount of promotion to come across 10 really talented people – which suggests to me that the talent pool in and around Sheffield must be incredible. It was great that they all tackled the project with such enthusiasm and passion for originality and there’s not one of the completed pieces that I don’t like. I think the chaotic imagery we’ve ended up with is kind of reflective of the diversity and collaborative nature of the album. It feels more appropriate that we used many artists rather than just one.

When would people listen to this album? How does it fit into people’s musical landscapes?

I think it’s probably an album to listen to alone, perhaps with headphones if you can face it. I know that I, for one, miss that experience enormously. The function of music seems increasingly to paper over silences in the background ambience, perhaps to make us feel less lonely in our digital caves. Songs (let alone albums) are rarely given a complete and focused listen with minimal extraneous noise intruding on the experience. I think there’s an audience out there for albums that are richly detailed, articulate and varied in tone and I guess that’s what we’ve tried to accomplish with this, on an extremely low budget sadly. We obviously have no idea if we’ve succeeded. Other people will have to decide that.

Interview by RICHARD KEENAN