CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS PROG
"And so it proves. Just one listen to Grappling Hooks was all it took to arouse the interest of most of the Prog office, and that was purely down to the strength of the songs. The subtle sweep of melodies has you enraptured almost before the reference points kick in. which in itself is something of a rarity these days. But each of the 11 songs here are a richly rewarding experience and strong enough to stand alone, were there such a thing as a 'singles' market these days."
"One look at the obvious influences that manoeuvre through the NAO soundscape-ELO, Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, Radiohead, Grandaddy - is enough to whet the appetite, but the structure in which the band use them provides an impressive spin on some otherwise well used themes. Opener Marrow for example. sets the atmosphere, but while Hollywood Has Ended throbs with the kind of dance, pro vibe Mike Oldfield used to such great effect on Tubular bells III, the brilliant Cell Count hurls the kind of hook-drenched melodies that Jeff Lynne would die for at you by the bucket-load.
Elsewhere, the likes of Some Blue Hive, Alexanderplatz and 77 Hours all provide further evidence that this talented band are destined for bigger things, while the Sturdy guitar drive of Drawing Maps From Memory proves that NAO are no strangers to rocking out when the mood takes them."
Jerry Ewing
NME
8/10
In geography lessons, some friends and I formed an imaginary psychedelic rock band called The Long Shore Drifters; we even went so far as to name our imaginary debut album Field Trip. NAO have gone one further and actually formed a band named after the climatic phenomenon which leads to fluctuations of air pressure that control the storm tracks across the Atlantic. What's more, it's really good. It ranges from Beta Band beats (Alexanderplatz) to post-rock pop (Drawing Maps From Memory) with the influence of Pink Floyd, The Flaming Lips and even Peter Gabriel looming large, but it's all pieced together in an intelligent, student kind of way with nods to Boards Of canada or Squarepusher.
Gordon Freame
THE QUIETUS
Give us a wave, indeed: it's practically de rigeur for new artists to take the most look-at-me approach they can, from the MTV-approved ker-ray-zeeness of Ke$ha to the confrontational insensibility of Die Antwoord, but there are precious few bands at the minute making many demands on the listener with their sheer sense of scale, which is where North Atlatnic Oscillation come in. Hell, the first ten seconds alone of this album include an alpine horn, an ostentatiously played church organ, and what appears to be someone bounding up a mountain in pursuit of Jonsi out of Sigur Ros; lovers of the understated, look away now...
In fact, it's the level of ambition that grabs most immediately about this album - it may not be entirely unique for the trio to attempt to thread together so many of the elements of not only prog but also 70s FM Americana and even a sprinkling of post-rock (in the wake of Deserter's Songs, you'll recall, there was no shortage of albums taking a similarly gregarious if not necessarily identical-on-the-genre-front approach), but the trio do so with a refreshing lack of self-satisfaction, resulting in a consistently haunting and occasionally hymnal affair. Last year's terrific 'Drawing Maps From Memory' was a hearty enough introduction to this ethos, of course, with its translucent vocals, minor-chord melancholia and visible bruising calling to mind someone performing a Maps number from memory, but they've been smart enough to tuck it away as innocuously as they can towards the album's end, which is the kind of move often seen as suicidal in the digital age, but is actually anything but the lead into it's sufficiently engaging.
And so it is that 'Grappling Hooks' is a tumble over constantly shifting creative sands right the way through: 'Hollywood Has Ended' feels like an early contender for a signature song, wending its winsome way across rawly reverb-buttressed terrain while flinging strident keyboards and bitingly last-second guitars into the cauldron, which only serves to make the Doves-via-Autechre thrills of 'Cell Count' that follow all the more startling, while '77 Hours' plays furious time games even as it descends into a Battles'n'Betas-y gamelan fug whose hovering takes on an increasingly horrific aspect that contrasts heavily with the inverted, unexpectedly Byrds-inflected folktronica of 'Ceiling Poem' and the spacious, motorik neo-pop of 'Alexanderplatz' that precede it. Indeed, the only constant would seem to be Sam's vocals, always at the very least on the brink of cherubic wordlessness and pitched with a pensive gravity, except that even that's not a tool they see fit to employ throughout (see, for instance, the oddly choogling instrumental 'Star Chamber').
If there is an exact overarching concept, then, it's a tough one to determine, however much the closing, all-but-multi-part 'Ritual' might make for what seems like an epiphany, but there's a commitment to the Other and a disdain for the expected here that ensure they're at least endlessly interesting and, more often than not, genuinely inspiring, and means that, among this year's debuts, North Atlantic Oscillation's may be the most wildly exciting of the lot...
Ian Moffat
UNCUT
4 STARS
Intriguing oddness from Scotland
"The painstakingly pieced together debut from this Edinburgh-based trio reflects the fluctuations of atmospheric pressure referenced by their name, veering as it does from Flaming Lips-style psych oddness of Hollywood Has Ended and the Beta Band grooves of Some Blue Hive to the processed pop of previous EP track Cell Count, The latter isn't a million miles away from So-era Peter Gabriel, but whenever the album threatens to veer into mainstream climes, a pleasing undercurrent of post-rock (Drawing Maps From Memory" or rhythmic weirdness in the vein of Boards Of Canada or Squarepusher (Audioplastic) crops up to keep things interesting."
Nathaniel Cramp
BIG CHEESE
4 STARS
Varied, dense, and dreamy.
"It's absurd to think that North Atlantic Oscillation can present a sound so varied yet so assured and only just be releasing their debut album. But Grappling Hooks is a Smorgasbord of untrammelled, arty indie which will leave NAO's contemporaries questioning the strength of their own Inspiration. Grappling Hooks somehow manages to recover from an unnervingly uncertain start to eventually display a sound so deep and layered it's impossible to take it all in on a first listen, with Star Chamber and Drawing Maps From Memory proving prime candidates for repeat listens. There are hints of Sigur Ros, Animal Collective and Idiot Pilot throughout, but NAO are a proposition so rife with unique talent it's actually quite upsetting."
Sam Bethell
CLASH
7/10
"It's clear that this is a debut album reaching far beyond the toilet circuit. In fact, armed with a near-criminal stockpile of beeps, buzzes and glitches generously sprayed over a spacious psychedelic rock canvas, it would seem their cross-hairs have gone interstellar. Fleshing out the best of spaced-out prog-rock indulgence and mixing it with the kind of kaleidoscopic melodies perfected by the likes of Super Furry Animals or The Flaming Ups, Grappling Hooks is a captivating record that sounds slick enough to be their third. All one can hope is that any creases ironed out in the future won't detract from the bustling creative energy this Scots lot currently harbour."
Ryan Dreyer
RedHotVelvet
4 STARS
"One of the most ambitious records you’re likely to hear this year. Dizzying and eccentric (Hollywood Has Ended), ambitious (Alexanderplatz) and even a little sinister sounding (Audioplastic) in places. The closest NAO come to “conventional” song writing is with Cell Count, but for the most part they’re about as conventional as a talking starfish. ‘Grappling Hooks’ is littered with searing and dreamy synths, intelligent vocals and big helpings of experimental, post rock riffage."
Sea of Tranquility
4 STARS
"Bands from the wet and windy parts of Northwest Europe (such parts are many) often share a particularly evocative maritime flavour in their sound. The Scottish band - North Atlantic Oscillation - are no exception; their rich yet cool orchestration flows in concise moments of oceanic elegance. The appropriately named debut, Grappling Hooks, is a slow burning watercolour of ambient, rock and pop sounds that pulls the listener in with its gentle blend of musical shades.
The album combines soothing pop-harmonies, strident rock pieces, psychedelic asides and synth leads; all seamlessly blended into a unified whole. But its defining characteristic is the gently layered sonic textures. Stopping short of an overawing wall of sound; North Atlantic Oscillation instead favour an unobtrusive hubbub that waxes and wanes, given the sound a striking depth. This unified canvass gives the band momentum to build into songs in an unhurried fashion, and also serves as a counterpoint to the crashing drums, which cleave through the delicately poised textures with a refreshing simplicity.
This, then, is a powerful debut. Managing to simultaneously evoke the sweeping melodies of Sigur Ros and the restrained ambience of Eno, North Atlantic Oscillation manage to elevate the mundane to the beautiful, and they do so effortlessly. Well worth a listen."
Press for North Atlantic Oscillation and Callsigns:
“For a band with little or no hype about them, it is truly special to hear NAO at this early stage in their career; the potential is frightening with songs like ‘Star Chamber’ and ‘Drawing Maps from Memory’ showcasing their talent and obvious knowledge of music. From The Beach Boys to Jeff Wayne’s ‘War of the Worlds’ to Radiohead to The Beta Band, they are a music enthusiast’s wet dream who have more ideas in a half hour set than some bands could come up with in an entire career. For two guys they have a mighty sound, albeit with the aid of a laptop, and really take some of their songs to sonic heights, all the while managing to sound experimental while retaining the basis of song and a melody. If ever the phrase ‘Ones to watch’ applied, it is stamped all over these guys.”
(4/5 stars) - John Paul Mason
“Delightfully shiny tunes” Music Week
“An astonishing amalgam of Flaming Lips and Grandaddy indie-pop sensibilities with a bewildering vista of sound sweeping ahead of the listener ... Acid-addled, silver-caped prog genius.”
(5/5 stars) - Stuart McHugh, Is This Music?
"...the Callsigns EP is so mind-bendingly different to what’s currently dominating various scenes that you can’t help but take notice. The band has somehow managed to lasso elements of Minus The Bear, put it in a room with a little slice of White Belt Yellow Tag, and forced the two to mate round the clock until an army of space age, keyboard wielding babies has been produced.
Put simply, you need this EP."
Artrocker
"Scotland’s cadavers of the underground are just on the point of breaking and this EP can only help their cause. Rubbing huge distorted rock explosions with the kind of subtle nuance we expect of Wild Beasts or loved from the Beta Band their passage to the next level is assured. Some journos have been frivolously throwing around accusations that they are ‘Scotland’s Animal Collective’ which seems a heavy albatross to strum with but their mix of electronics and an indie aesthetic is as refreshing as we can find."
Clash Music
"It sounds nothing like you expect it to. But then that’s exactly what makes North Atlantic Oscillation so beguiling, intriguing and fascinating – there’s a surprise around every corner. Are you ready? "
glasswerk.co.uk
"The entire E.P seem a near perfect amalgamation of digital sounds and live instrumentation, something Radiohead might have strived for if they had only eaten a nice meal and maybe played with a bouncy ball in the sunshine occasionally."
skiddle.com
"Cell Count and Ceiling poem have an abundance of swirling synths, heavy beats and visceral guitas leaving them caught somewhere between the Trip-Hop pyshcadelica of The Beta Band and the space adventures of Fuck Buttons piloted by Wayne Coyne.
North Atlantic Oscillation seem set on creating the musical equivilant of their name in all it’s otherwordly splendour."
addictmusic
