Never heard of this band before but I’m glad I finally did now. Dear John Letter play pretty well done postrock and hail from Augsburg, a city I’ve never ever even been close to.
The first thing that catches the eye is the low key yet awesome artwork that already tunes you into the right mood for this record, a mood that would best be described as some sort of quixotic melancholy. Long instrumental parts broken by gentle singing every now and then meet multilayered melodies and intertwined harmonies of bass, at least two guitars and keys. With a different sound some parts might have turned out very heavy and almost doomy but the way it is subtleness rules over sheer power and the louder parts sound rather like the new loud than the old one. For a band that is around for only some three years this output and their whole appearance is very mature. Dear John Letter is a name to remember for everyone who is into postrock or postwhatever and if their next release won’t be on a good label I’ll be really surprised. And if it is their own rehearsal room they show on the poster offered on their website I am very, very jealous!
[jan]
www.dearjohnletter.de
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