With their new full-length, Shutter Release, Lymbyc Systym’s Jared and Michael Bell are redefining what it means to be an instrumental band. The brothers make music that sings through you, and their impossibly personal vividly intimate melodies are the product of a lifetime of making music together. Seamlessly blending precision precise pop hooks, grandiose orchestration and experimental structures, their anthemic songs get straight to the point and leave the listener breathless. Their music resonates with our most personal experiences, and inevitably, our stories become the lyrics.
Shutter Release showcases Lymbyc Systym at its best and solidifies the brothers’ presence as a polyphonic wall of sound. For their acclaimed live show, Jared and Michael, side-by-side, dominate their instruments in effortless synchronicity. This energetic dynamism dynamic energy holds true in pervades the ten expertly crafted songs on Shutter Release the album.
With the brothers Bell now living apart in Brooklyn and Austin, the writing process for Shutter Release began with inspired late night conversations. Melodies and rhythms were sung to one another over the phone. These audio sketches, like the faded photograph on the album’s cover, were passed back and forth until these vibrant images came into focus.
Recorded to analog tape during the dead of an East coast winter, the brothers harnessed the full capacity of the studio. Organs, vibraphone, analog synthesizers, banjo, vintage tape echo, African percussion, toy piano and eight-bit modules adorn the album. Drum programming was based on an organic approach, with samples taken from found sounds, manipulated gongs and variety of household trinkets. Once the solid core of Jared’s high-energy melodic layering and Mike’s uncontainable beats were locked in place, the brothers called upon an array of talented close friends to lend a hand. Their rich, new complement of strings, horns, lap steel and guitar pushes the music into explosive new territory.
Lymbyc Systym’s compositional versatility and mastery of dynamics are in full force on Shutter Release. Guitar laden “Ghost Clock” conjures the ominous, energizing spirit of My Bloody Valentine combined with the melodic intricacy of Tortoise. The triumphant “Bedroom Anthem” lulls us in with tranquil intertwining banjo and glockenspiel before culminating in a jubilant, horn-heavy crescendo. The resulting sound resembles a chance meeting between Jon Brion and Broken Social Scene. In contrast, the ethereal textures on tracks like “Kubrick” add an intimate, spatial warmth to the record that evokes the subtleties of Stars of the Lid.
Shutter Release showcases the meticulously refined textures of Lymbyc Systym’s studio prowess without compromising the raw, captivating energy of their live show. With this release, the Bell brothers push the boundaries of wordless music into uncharted territory, proving that the genre is alive and thriving.
· Lymbyc Systym has toured with Broken Social Scene, The Books, Crystal Castles, The Album Leaf, Her Space Holiday and This Will Destroy You.
· Shutter Release was mixed by John Congleton (Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky, Black Mountain, etc.)
· Shutter Release features instrumental contributions from members of This Will Destroy You, Balmorhea and Slow Six.
· Lymbyc Systym will tour the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan to promote Shutter Release.
LYMBYC SYSTYM
01/07 Seattle, WA High Dive *
01/08 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios *
01/09 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord *
01/10 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater *#
01/11 San Diego, CA Che Cafe *
01/12 Tucson, AZ Plush *
01/13 Tempe, AZ Sail Inn *
01/15 Austin, TX Emo’s $
01/16 Houston, TX Rudyard’s
* = w/ Helios
# = w/ The One AM Radio
$ = w/ This Will Destroy You
Lymbyc Systym
Shutter Release
(Mush)
Street Date: Nov. 3, 2008
1. Trichromatic
2. Ghost Clock
3. Interiors
4. Bedroom Anthem
5. Kubrick
6. Contemporary Art
7. T-Ball
8. Shutter Release
9. Teddy
10. Late Night Classic
LYMBYC SYSTYM LINKS:
MySpace: myspace.com/thelymbycsystym