TentaclEars - Show Recommendation, After Nations

TentacleEars (San Diego, CA)

“Clearly influenced by great post rock artists like Mogwai and The Mars Volta, After Nations is a fire tornado of sound. Each track, each chord and each arrangement begins with just a little spark, like a dropped glass acting as flint, until the momentum builds and breaks in a rolling cresendo of flame. At times it can be beautiful and glorious in it’s oxidated release of energy with inspiring waves of divergent and pliant organization that comes across unexpected like the approaching intensity of heat. This take on rock stems from a belief that mainstream rock with formulaic progression is bland due to predictability. For those of you completely comfortable with spontaneity it’s easy to note how jazz influenced the experimental take on rock right down to it’s solely instrumental perspective. Ultimately, the sound is loud with an artistic point of view that inspires a release of energy that without warning can be explosive.

After Nations is a young band formed in 2012 and currently reside in Kansas City. Being modern, the band used Kickstarter as a campaign to fund the band’s endeavors.  The trio consists of Andrew Elliott shredding the guitar with wicked style, Tyler Mehaffey providing a heavy bass and Trent Utley bringing mad percussion skills. Together they create a feel that is loud, in your face and full of energy. They integrate the three instruments in such a way that it feels both harmonious and clashing in an exciting juxtaposition. Unveil Panoptica, their latest EP, released this April and the band is currently touring the sound.” ~ TentacleEars

SXSW Overflow 2014: Day Four (After Nations, Take One Car, Jacob Latham, The Hat Madder, jungles!!!, Doomsquad, & More)

 Space City Rock (Houston, TX)

“…these Kansas City guys are a fiery, turbulent bunch of proggy instro-rockers, quick-shifting through different time signatures and sharp-edged riffs so fast it’ll make your head spin. They teeter on the edge between more metal folks like Pelican and Russian Circles and more flat-out prog people, while throwing in some Tom Morello-style guitar tricks and spacerock-y atmospheres and generally trying to paint some kind of a mental picture. The end result is damn impressive, kind of like a Midwestern cousin to Houston’s own Sunrise and Ammunition, and I’m liking what I’ve heard quite a bit.” ~ Space City Rock

SXSW Day One: Zorch, La Migra, Illya Kuryaki and the Valderammas and more

The Pitch

“We ducked in, and quickly out, of some venues, based on what was on the stage in front of us – just because it’s at South By doesn’t automatically make it good. But the “let it happen” mantra I was trying to accept did result in a few unexpected and delightful discoveries – among them, Kansas City’s own After Nations.

Made up of guitarist Andrew Elliott, bassist Tyler Mehaffey and drummer Trent Utley, After Nations was blaring some thrashy prog-rock from inside the Karma Lounge so loudly, I’m pretty sure the boys will be paying for it later. No matter. I’ve never had my face melted off so completely by a band before. Just annihilated. And for a crowd of fewer than 20 people. This is what people talk about when they talk about the “magic” of SXSW: the surprises, the coincidences, the surreal finds.” ~ Natalie Gallagher