What the critics are saying:
GOD IS IN THE TV ZINE
"...It ticks every box to ensure post-rock success..it's up there with their dauntingly brilliant influences...divine work...Post-rock and electronica conniseurs will find much to love, plus of course it's always good to find chillout music which has no intent to cynically cash in on the Mondeo market..." Mike Mantin
I WORK AT INITECH
"A one-sentence review of this album would be that it sounds like Slint or My Bloody Valentine playing a group of songs by the likes of Boards of Canada and Of Montreal. (They) manage to pull off a sound that at times reminds me of Air (Lost for Days), and Aphex Twin (4_Cycles), with slightly more pronounced guitar riffs.. Overall the album is more than just an interesting listen throughout, as Keser manage to make shoe-gazer style music in mostly electronic/keyboard driven medium. The album is definitely worth checking out, especially if youre looking for some electronica-fed post-rock!" Sean Clancy
POPÖGA, SWEDEN
"Calm, beautiful ascending passages that build to more drifting and hissing cascades..and mystical periods with adequately indistinct vocals..One could call Kevan and David postrock traditionalists who care about the genre's legacy well."
CROOKED RAIN
...on this release things are mainly kept below the raucous level and more on a chilled out plane. The opening track FM Rocker is a prime example of this, though it does give way, Orbital style, to the slightly more menacing 4_Cycles. Page 20 has an intro not unlike The Postal Service, maybe at a push Dntel, but definitely Jimmy Tamburello sounding. Which believe me is no bad thing...The production is slick, as is the whole presentation of the band. I'd listen to it again and on the whole it's a thumbs up for Keser. Would be interesting to catch their live show.
BORING MACHINES DISTURBS SLEEP
...I am preplexed at how I managed to let a band such as Keser slip under my radar, and it took an American based blogger to point them in my direction. The Edinburgh based duo create a sound that masses together the intesity of Mogwai, Boards of Canada style synths and inventive programming. They also share some similarities with Glasgow based Errors...
EVIL SPONGE
There is something rarified about this ambitious debut. High altitude, far-reaching, call it what you will. This is a polished, sophisticated release -- an aural panorama in twelve parts, bound together by a retro-futuristic ambience evocative of airports, cities and technology. A high speed, wide-screen dream. I think we may need our passports.
DAILY RECORD
FANTASTIC to get some electronica through the Sound Check mailbox, especially when it's of such high quality..it's music for Sky HD - expansive, lush and colourfully hypnotic. While much of the ethereal soundscapes would be perfect for watching sunsets in Ibiza or travelling on a bus through the Highlands in winter, at its heart are melodies. Esoteric Escape isn't all about beats and layers of synths. There are great songs holding the tracks together. So 4_Cycles conjures up a vision of crystals with its warm guitar. The album's highlight, Frozen Fireworks, has a trance beat, Kevan's repeated vocal samples and laughter, and a Keane-style melody. A must for anyone who likes chill-out. Rick Fulton :The Daily Record / Soundcheck :Friday 8th Dec 06
IS THIS MUSIC?
...they actually manage to achieve in their tracks a new sound drenched in guitar-based electronica. From the soothing rhythms of 'FM Rocker' to the angsty and mournfully elegant electro-cirlicues of '4_Cycles', Keser prove they are able to explore the syntax of electronica with awe and excitement. Sounding like a cross between a softer version of Macrocosmica with a touch of Aereogramme, Keser combine electronic tenebrous dissonance, bass-heavy rhythms and a dose of vitriol with contemplative guitars. 'Lost for Days' switches from the ghostly to the spaced out while 'Destination:Destiny' is definitely the best track on the album thanks to its crescendo of sophisticated charming sounds and its noisecore ferocity. A band worth investigating. (AB) Issue 24 Winter 2006
Keser is a Scottish post rock electronica duo comprising of Gavin Dick (bass) and Kevan Whitley (guitar). Their sound has its roots in the Glasgow underground guitar music scene of the late 90's where they studied for 4 years and witnessed transcendental bands such as 'Aereogramme', 'Mogwai' and 'Arab Strap' first hand.
Fusing the guitar style of that lauded era with synthesised beats has resulted in a new progressive form of guitar-based seraphic electronica. Ambient and ethereal sounds elevate subtly, building up into crushing waves and returning back again. The vaporous instrumentals and melodic chimings are only anchored by the electro beats and unconditional ambience throughout. This musical and life metaphorical mentality is evident on every track.
Their debut album 'Esoteric Escape' has captured both their live feel and refined recordings into 12 tracks and diverges into the realms of post rock melodic electonica, sounds which seem to aptly soundtrack a person's journey..
Be it through life or simply on a bus trip.. 6 billion people can't be wrong.
