The first Forest of Sound of 2008 will be a blinder!

Saturday: 16/02/2008 @ The Packhorse, Leeds. £5. Doors 7.30pm.

All the details can be found here - www.myspace.com/forestofsound

DIRGE
Hailing from Rouen, France, Dirge are a find that got the Forest of Sound camp very, very excited. Based around a minimalist core of guitar/vocal/violoncello/drums, Dirge take the raw emotion and sweeping bleak sounds from the post-rock canon (Mogwai, Godpseed You! Black Emperor et al.) and fuse them with story telling and lyricism of lo-fi indie and folk (think Arab Strap, Tindersticks) and slowcore beauty (Low, Audrey). Dirge are an extraordinary band who fuse the vital elements of truly affecting music together. It's their first time in Leeds. Don't miss them.

"These are mournful laments rising straight out of the band's name, slowcore pastorals of a region where time moves more slowly than the glittering city..." - http://www.igloomag.com

"Stirring, ghostly instrumental passages hang in the air like early-morning fog, shrouding the muted vocals without compromising their weight. There's a palpable sense of tragedy here, but Dirge keep the details tantalizingly out of reach. You never really know what's going on - but in this case, dramatic confusion is bliss."
- http://www.splendidzine.com

HER NAME IS CALLA
Her Name Is Calla have become very very strong Forest of Sound favourites, for one very simple reason - they're astoundingly good. Watching these guys play is like watching a force of nature threatening to destroy everything around you - the power, beauty and effect of their music has to be seen live to be appreciated. We've never met anyone who hasn't been converted by them.

"Rarely has a piece of music actually sounded so idyllic for a setting far beyond your wildest imagination... and simply begs the question: why can't all artists be as ambitiously prophetic as this?" - Drowned In Sound

CAPULET
As always, Forest of Sound is partial to a bit of super high quality instrumental beauty in music, and so are delighted to have Capulet enter the fold! A four piece feauturing members of Oceansize and Kong, these guys have a keen ear for the just right nagging meoldy, for the power of musical dynamics and the ability to pull off a blistering live show. Oh yes.

"Their music is beautifully thoughtful and also jarringly intelligent." - http://www.manchestermusic.co.uk

CHARLIESHERO
On tour with Capulet, CHARLIESHERO are another band who read from the post rock canon and spit it back out with blistering energy and conviction. This kind of music lives and dies in the playing - the dynamics, the passion, the sheer force of it all... and the pastoral breaks and lullaby melodies inbetween. Luckily, they've got all that down just right.