<p><span><span>- Brisbane based duo Ancient Channels sit at the punchy, post-punk end of the shoegaze spectrum. They don’t rely solely on a dreamy, floating, ethereal vibe, with powerful percussion-driven oomph adding an extra thumping heartbeat to the music.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The in-studio version of Ancient Channels consists of <strong>Kelly Hanlon</strong> -of <strong>Terra Pines</strong> & <strong>Deafcult</strong>- who handles the vocals, guitars and synths, plus drums and percussion by <strong>Chris Preindl</strong>, who has had stints in bands such as <strong>Vestiges</strong>, <strong>Leavings</strong> and <strong>Apparitions</strong>. Since late 2019, the band has released four singles, all of which also appear on their first full length album, entitled <em>Moments In Ruin</em>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>I’m not sure if dream-rock is a genre, but labelling Ancient Channels dream-pop feels like it undersells the harder edge and rhythm of most of their tunes. The band themselves cite influences such as <strong>The Creatures</strong>, <strong>Beach House</strong> and <strong>Warpaint</strong>, although to me there are also echoes of classic British darkwave/goth.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Having said that, genre labels and band comparisons can obscure as much as they reveal. The basic question is - “is it good”? And this Ancient Channels album is very good indeed.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>It’s hard to find a weak track amongst the eleven tunes, and there is also a fair bit of variety in the style and feels of the various pieces, which is another reason why trying to use a single label to describe them is never going to be sufficient.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Similarly, picking out one song is never going to give an adequate representation of the album.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Some of the standout tracks for me included a couple of the singles that were released in advance of the album such as <em>Deep Rest</em>, and <em>Carpe Noctem</em> -seize the night- which opens the album. However there are plenty of new gems on here to discover as well, such as the rich interplay of instruments and rhythm patterns on <em>She-Rise</em>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Whichever tracks you single out, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by any of the songs on <em>Moments In Ruin</em>. It's a debut album which shows a lot of promise that more good things are still to come from Ancient Channels.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Andrew Bartlett.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1701081781/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://ancientchannels.bandcamp.com/album/moments-in-ruin">Moments In Ruin by Ancient Channels</a></iframe>