Albums I listen to on a regular basis tend to interest me for many reasons – whether it’s capturing a spirit, pure musicianship, intelligent lyrics, capturing volatile and difficult emotions, and/or that magical ability to catapult me to another world, if only for 30-80 minutes at a time. Bands like Moving Mountains, Gates, The Appleseed Cast, and Deftones have always done those things for me.
This may be abrupt, but it’s time to add Brampton, Ontario’s New Design to that list. Upon first listen to their album Far From Home, I was immediately captivated by their blend of indie rock and post-rock. But why? Find out below.
Suffice it to say, New Design are doing some next-level stuff these days. Their full-length album, Far From Home, simultaneously evokes memories of lying in my bed and listening to Moving Mountains’ magnum opus, Pneuma, for the first time. Essentially, it’s a fusion of emo, post-rock, and indie-rock. The way tracks like album standout “There Is No Safe Place” simply explode midway through the song is something that only the upper echelon of musicians can pull off effectively, and in this song’s case, the buildup hits you out of nowhere. “The Things We Can’t Forget” pulls off a similar aesthetic, and it wouldn’t sound out of place on, you guessed it, Pneuma. Given how personally affecting on me that album was growing up, it’s a huge deal.
With bands like this, they have to know how to effectively build tension, atmosphere, and to have it all pay off. Far From Home accomplishes all of those things and more over the course of 10 songs, and New Design needs to be on your radar, like…yesterday.
Stream Far From Home below, and buy it if you like it. It’s worth every penny.
FFO: Moving Mountains, Gates, Mineral, The Appleseed Cast
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