Dry County - Nothing Stays In Place EP

Perhaps the most refreshingly unique band emerging in Ireland right now, Dry County are an extremely difficult band to capture in a nutshell, and have been previously described rather noncommittal as "post-everything pop music". To me they sound a bit like Aphex Twin meet dEUS, which doesn't quite hit the nail on the head, but does go some way towards describing this band, as although having a prominent ambient electronica orientation, and an experimentation taken to a level which would normally only hold forte with art-rock, they have a distinctly dreamy indie-rock feel which makes for incredibly good wind-down music.

Released back in 2004, I just picked up their Nothing Stays In Place EP at a gig about four months ago, and it has become a favourite for quiet idle nights, but I struggle to fathom how a band this good remain on the fringes. Indeed their flagship song 'Lost Now', could be the soundtrack to so much great underexposed music around Ireland, where the best of it does not always get it's chance to rise. The beauty of the song remains undiscovered unless you give it the time it deserves. It turns direction several times before settling into the heart of the song, so is one which could easily be overlooked, but it has a fantastic use of overlayed soft vocals and rhythms, and is music which gets better on every listen, with new dimensions unfolding every time.

Dry County are currently completing their debut album which is due for release later this year. There are some demos of their new material for download on their website and myspace, my favourite of which is 'Phantom Pain', another softly woven song which builds to a great noise infestation towards its finish in such a natural direction it almost gathers unnoticed. The track 'Lost Now' from their Nothing Stays In Place EP is also available for download.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/drycounty05

http://www.drycounty.org

http://www.myspace.com/lazybirdrecords