Newspaperflyhunting -
Wastelands


(CD 2017, 50:49, Private Release)

The tracks:
  1- We Used To Wander(2:44)
  2- Wasteland(6:56)
  3- A Question(3:53)
  4- Down The Steps(3:36)
  5- Sleep(4:31)
  6- Equal To None(5:42)
  7- Hours Pass(5:34)
  8- Solaris(16:48)


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Newspaperflyhunting does not sound very Polish, but is that a problem? I don't think so. They do come from Poland, Bialystock. This band exists since 2006 and made some records and some EPs too. In 2014 Background Magazine published the review for their second album Iceberg Soul (see review).

Now Michal Pawloswki (guitar and vocals), Krystof Sarna (drums), Gosia Sutula-Grabowska (bass and vocals), Jacek Bezubik (guitars and vocals) and Beata Grzegorcyk-Andrejczuk (keyboards) return with the follow up record, Wastelands.

Please take a look at the cover of the album, what do you think? Well, my thoughts were: what a mess,I see a real desolate misery. It really is an honor that I may listen to Newspaperflyhunting their music, just kidding.

Alright, touch the play button and give it a chance....., why not?

We Used To Wander starts with real melodic guitar parts, together with tasty keyboards and a lovely rhythm. The keys grab you by the balls, catchy and repetitive In this song there is a male singer, great. In the background there are some postrock guitar parts. It is a short song and makes me curious as to the other 7 songs.

Wastelands is an instrumental song that starts with guitar strumming, nice and calm. Slowly the drums come in. The first guitar stays melodic, the other guitar pulls up a wall of sound. The wall becomes higher and higher, bigger and bigger while the song develops. After a minute or five, there is a beautiful guitar solo, after which the song gradually decreases. This song reminds me of Crippled Black Phoenix, well done!

In A Question, sang by Gosia, who reminds me of Dolores O'Riordan, the female singer of The Cranberries who died just recently. There is a guitar riff that repeats during the song and settles in your head. You will never lose that riff again. The lyrics in this song are a bit philosophical.

The song Down The Steps has real emotional lyrics for me. A feeling of emptiness hangs over me and I thought: where will this lead to? At 2:08 you hear stomping drums and a guitar wall pulls up after which a splitting guitar solo enters your ears, the emotion splashes off.

Sleep is not my cup of tea because it ends in a cacophony of noise, in my opinion unnecessary, but hey, who am I? Maybe you will like it.

Equal To None starts at the piano; strings enter and feel a bit desolate. The song tells the story of a young man that is talented in playing Beethoven, but who wants to play a simple rock song, that he cannot compose. He is locked in his mind and is frustrated. A soul touching song, it grabbed me!

Hours Pass is a another melodic song that has a lovely guitar solo, Gosia sings again.

The last track is the longest, Solaris. It is sung in Polish, so I don't know what the lyrics mean. For me this song takes too long because of the fact that there is too little happening and the transitions are so sudden, that it looks like it is actually several numbers that are stuck together. Some positive things in this song: the vocals are beautiful, is it because of the native language? The guitar solos are also beautiful, I really enjoy them.

For me this album was a pleasant surprise. The overall musical style is postrock; so if you like that style, give this album a chance, there are great pieces of music on it. Do not be guided by the possible negative thought you can get when you see the album cover!!

***+ Michel Stolk (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)

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