Despite naming their album, Last Chants and being named Apache Beat, this group of boys and girls are anything but traditional Native American musicians. Rather, Apache Beat are a quasi shoegazing, theatrical, post-4ad bunch who make widescreen pop that seem to soar on the whims of their vocalist.
Hitting heights rarely reached in indie rock, Last Chants sounds as if it were recorded in a cathedral with the very intent of reaching for heaven. Apache Beat have recorded a record that bounces along with such epic aspirations that it seems as if it's the bands destiny to wind somewhere far above their earthly restraints. What's truly great about this band is how they somehow channel the ghosts of all those lost 4ad bands that used to make the label one the most interesting labels on the planet. There are bits and bobs of old Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, and maybe even someone like Xmal Deutchland, coursing through out this record. Last Chants is far from being your standard indie rock record and instead seems to be one of the most artful and dramatic things floating around right now.
Apache Beat have truly created a work of art that's challenging, gorgeous, and so different than everything else that it stands out like a sore thumb. With angular guitars, choir like vocals, dark hidden synths, drums that sound as if they're thrown in for additional textures as opposed to beats Apache Beat have created a broad canvas of art using dark colors, broad strokes, shadows, and a mysterious approach that sounds so unusual you can't help but notice. Last Chants is not a pop record but a work of art that will question you, challenge you, and leave you thinking why they don't make records like this anymore.
Apache Beat are complicated, intricate, dramatic, and artful and Last Chants is a intriguingly beautiful album that reminds us that not all music has to be auto-tuned to be good. Puzzling brilliance that's too big for this world, Last Chants proves that artful pop is alive and well.
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