Aereogramme

Formed in 1997 in Glasgow by Ganger's singer-guitarist Craig B, Aereogramme debuted with two singles, Translations and Hatred, and two EPs, Glam Cripple (Chemikal Underground, 2000) and White Paw. Their first full-length album, A Story In White (Chemikal Underground, 2001), offered an ambitious mixture of prog-rock, death-metal, post-rock, industrial music and emo-core. The band's specialty is the "quiet & loud" routine of The Question Is Complete (derailed in 7/4 and 5/4), Zionist Timing and Post-Tour Pre-Judgement, although the most gripping sounds come out of the bombastic and chaotic Shouting For Joey, and the most touching moments (A Meaningful Existence, Egypt, Sunday 3:52) display a surprising dose of emotion. The album is an exercise in style, not simply copying styles but trying to coin a new one via a process of metamorphosis.

Sleep And Release (Matador, 2003) is an equally complex album that relies on even looser song structures. If sometimes the results sound confused and pretentious (Indiscretions) the majestic, symphonic glam-pop of Black Past, the chamber industrial post-rock of Process of Elimination and the graceful elegy of Gratitude, drenched in classical strings and solemn drums, unleash avalanches of feelings/sounds that, if not for content, are impressive as sheer form.
The mood swings, the gentle melodies and the menacing eruptions, the narrative subtleties of Older, No Really and Wood hark back to prog-rock melodrama, but with a neurotic/angelic twist that gives new meaning to King Crimson's "21st century schizoid man". It all comes together on the tenth (title-less) track, six minutes of martial crescendo that negate Aereogramme's skills at dynamics but also prove their irrational take on rationality.

The mini-album Seclusion (Undergroove, 2004) is a vastly inferior work, despite the surreal mini-concerto of Alternative Score.

Seclusion (Undergroove, 2005 - Sonic Unyon, 2006) is an eclectic and confusing collection, generally harsher and denser, but highlighted by an emo-core anthem, Inkwell, and by a ten-minute psychodrama, The Unravelling, that had little in common with the rest (notably Dreams And Bridges). It generally marked a less experimental and more song-oriented approach.

My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go (Chemikal Underground, 2007) continued their stylistic merry-go-round with a sequence of songs that seemed to revisit the age of dream-pop. Abandoning the neurotic edges of the previous albums, Aereogramme opted for a warmer and friendlier sound that frequently works its magic no matter how derivative it may be (My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go, Barriers).

Guitarist Ian Cook and singer Craig B. joined the Unwinding Hours.