From Low Beams of Hope
last Wednesday at 10:02 PM
This photo is from last year but I didn't post it, for some reason. It's not great, I guess, but it is a pleasant memory trigger for me.
I went to see Pijn last year and they played a lot off their new record; From Low Beams of Hope, and I specifically said at the time I couldn't begin to fathom how you'd compose songs like this. They're such dense compositions, and there's a relatively large set of instrumentation even for a post-rock-adjacent band. Hearing Pijn play live is a pretty singular experience in the context of live music, especially when they've got the full band (they play the same songs with different arrangements to suit who's on stage. You always get something brilliant).
I got an email on Monday saying my vinyl had been dispatched and I was super excited because I hadn't been tracking the release date and didn't realise it was already here. It arrived today; two days early 🤫
TL;DR I absolutely love it. On some nice headphones it sounds just incredible. The recordings have a live atmosphere and energy to them that I love in post rock, and is often lost in the translation to a recording.
One thing post rock fans are likely to tell you is that you haven't experienced or until you've seen it live. I try to avoid things like that because it's a smug and unsubtle way to massage your own superiority complex, but if you get the chance to see post rock live I would encourage you to do it. If you get the chance to see Pijn live, I'll come with you.
The quality of the package is so high too. Hand-written Bandcamp download codes on quality custom printed cards, inserts, and a nice hand-written thank-you note which always gets me. I love supporting stuff like this.
Pijn - From Low Beams of Hope