AMG Review of Calm Hades Float [Bonus Tracks]

Charlie Wilmoth & Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

Windsor for the Derby effectively mix ambience and post-rock guitar playing on Calm Hades Float, the group's first album. Most of the songs here begin with clean-toned guitar arpeggios -- think the Durutti Column or a less complex Slint -- and feature distant drums, buried vocals, and layers of guitar feedback. Like most ambient, Calm Hades Float aims for atmosphere, not drama: the songs lumber slowly and include few structural changes, and the guitar parts are poker-faced and minimal. Adam Wiltzie mixes everything, but the guitar is low enough that the listener has to strain to hear the swelling background noise. Its presence is nonetheless important, though, because it makes Windsor for the Derby's music feel motionless. The group's guitar style is partially derived from Slint's brand of math rock, but the effect of Windsor for the Derby's music has more to do with the rich stasis of Labradford or Stars of the Lid. In 2006, Secretly Canadian reissued Calm Hades Float with three bonus tracks, the enigmatic"+/-" and live versions of "Mythologies" (its studio version appeared on the Emotional Rescue album) and "Skimming" (whose original version was recorded for 1997's Minnie Greunzfeldt album). No slop or throwaway material here, this live stuff in particular is what dreams -- or perhaps nightmares -- are made of. A worthwhile investment for anyone who bought the original or for those seeking a worthy introduction.