pq

We've finally released the wonderful debut album by Belgian duo pq. Head over to expanding records for more, and check out the myspace page too. Below is what Barcodezine says about it [BTW they are right about the recent infrequency of releases, but thats all about to change]

Releases from the excellent Expanding Records label are becoming increasingly infrequent, which is a shame, especially as this album from pq – a Belgian duo – is another quality outing.

You’ll Never Find Us Here outputs 13 tracks of fertile ambient-acoustics, incorporating mostly classical and electric guitars, piano, and subtle electronic textures.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of pq is their willingness to embrace melodic chord progressions that invite the listener in, whilst at the same time generating disquieting atmospheres that drift into unorthodox territories.

This is successfully explored on the opening A Taste of Diminished Expectations, which combines gently plucked guitar chords with hollow, reverb-fuelled sound effects to titillate the senses. Meanwhile, tracks such as La Chapelle and Your Perception of Red are more than happy to play it straight, the former utilising soothing lonesome acoustic guitars and the latter dual-layered piano, songwriting at its most simple – yet effective.

Louis on Earth stands out for Louise Rates vocal contribution, which adds a haunting quality to the track’s melancholy, yet somewhat foreboding guitar riffs – eminently calming all the same.

The remainder of You’ll Never Find Us Here is mostly comprised of aspects of the aforementioned tracks; short, often sweet, statements that explore a rand of diversifying moods, assisted by an undulating cosmos of clicks and cuts. It’s amazing how much diversity can come from such a simple blending of instruments, yet this is the key to pq’s accomplishment – combining traditional yet inventive auras with the erudite perception that quite often less is more, crucially allowing the listener’s imagination to fill in the blanks