Sequesterer is word we invented and enjoyed the sound of. ‘To sequester’ means ‘to hide away or isolate something’ , or in chemistry ‘to form a stable compound with an atom or molecule so it is no longer available for reactions’. We’ll leave it to people to interpret for themselves, and to create their own meaning or journey in the music.
Dublin’s instrumental maximalists Alarmist have returned with their second LP, ‘Sequesterer’, out 19th July. Like 2015’s acclaimed ‘Popular Demain’ album, the new record pulsates with kinetic energy, while also making detours into the more spacious and slower-paced avenues of the band’s collective imagination.
Members Neil Crowley, Elis Czerniak and Barry O’Halpin draw upon backgrounds in post-rock, electronic, jazz and contemporary chamber music – foundations on which they build with an ever-increasing sense of freedom and adventure. Embracing the collision of frenetic percussion, clanging guitars and vaporous synths, they absorb faded relics of retro-futurism and bygone musical eras into their own new and twistingly melodic musical language.
Alarmist’s unique sound has won diverse audiences and an international following since their 2011 debut EP. Their four records have frequently reached Bandcamp’s top 30 experimental rock and math rock charts . Live highlights have included festivals such as Ottawa Jazz (CAN), Arctangent, Brilliant Corners (UK), Out of The Crowd (Lux) and 12 Points (IRL/SWE), and notable support slots for BADBADNOTGOOD and LITE.
Notable radio play has included WNYC (Jon Schaefer’s New Sounds), BBC3 (Late Junction) BBC6 (Gideon Coe & Tom Ravenscroft) KCRW (John Moses’ The Lab), Amazing Radio (Simon Raymonde of Bella Union/Cocteau Twins), as well as RTÉ, Swedish National Radio. They have featured and reviewed in All About Jazz, PROG, Hot Press, Kerrang, Guardian Music, Sunday Times Ireland and the Irish Times. Photos by Robert ‘SCAN’ Watson