Ides of Space...

Ides of Space was an Australian shoegaze/indie-rock group that was formed in 1999, however despite a bit of exposure here in the US and doing well among college radio they still went fairly unnoticed here. They seemed to have a bit more success in their home country of Australia though. They recorded two EP’s, First Translated in 1965 and We Have Nowhere to Be, both of which were released in 2001. Those two EP’s would be collected onto one single album titled There Are No New Clouds through the US label Better Looking Records. It was actually with that album that I first heard them and instantly liked what I heard. While it isn’t anything terribly original, the songs are definitely strong, consisting of good but also restrained use of dense feedback to help craft them. Sometimes maybe a bit too somber, however the band does well to make sure it doesn’t dwell on those moments too long. I definitely recommend checking out There Are No New Clouds, since it’s the easiest thing these days to track down by them and because it’s close to, if not, the best thing they did while together.

Ides of Space – This Side of the Screen [MP3]
Ides of Space – Random Noise Generator [MP3]

The band did record an actual album that was released in 2004 called Sleeping Fractures. I don’t really know too much about it actually, although I think it was originally planned for a US release through The First Time Records, but evidently never happened. It’s definitely worth listening to if anyone out there can find it/afford it. After the release of Sleeping Fractures the band pretty much disappeared, at least it seemed that way to me. However, this past year a few of the members turned up in a new project dubbed Line Drawings. You can find them over on their MySpace.

As for obtaining a copy of There Are No New Clouds, it’s still available through Better Looking Records. Definitely give it a spin.