Review: Xeeland ‘Water’ [Vinyl Reissue]
Xeeland is Jason Stöll, who has been in many bands over the years including Sex Swing, Twin Sister, Mugstar, Dømes, KLÄMP, Bonnacons Of Doom, Playhouse and JAAW.
He is also the founder of God Unknown Records, which has released some fantastic records from the likes of Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy, Sneers, Rainbow Grave, Bushpilot. We at Shaman Towers have been fortunate enough to cover a fair share of said catalogue over the years.
In case you don’t know (why would you?), Jason resides in The Netherlands, Utrecht to be exact, a city that was named as a UNESCO city of literature in 2017 and which will this year be the new home to the national literature museum. This environment of culture and learning, therefore, feels like the best place to host a project like Xeeland, who we are promised on their Bandcamp page create ‘soundtracks to films that were never made’. To date, Xeeland have provided us with four full-length albums, the latest release being this year’s Master Builder, but note that this is a vinyl reissue of the 2024 sophomore album, Water.
Seatime features the kind of warm ambient sounds that My Bloody Valentine adopted on their 1991 Tremolo EP (pre-Loveless). It marked that point in shoegaze where bands were unafraid of showcasing their Brian Eno influences, absolutely blissful, recalling that feeling of perhaps falling for somebody the first time you see them. A brilliant start.
Waves focuses your attention a little more, with an insistent, haunting tone, it feels somewhat unnerving in spots. Less ethereal, it’s akin to drifting along in a nightmarish void from which you’ll never escape, or Bowman being refused entry to the spaceship by Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey. A wonderfully tense number. The title track, Water, contains more drone elements and is subjectively heavier than its predecessors, coming across as doom laden yet one enveloped with a religious, spiritual feel. It’s like sitting in a church for a service, but with infinitely better music played by the likes of Sunn and co.
Xeeland is another example of top-notch musicianship which manages to soothe and thrill in equal measure…
Fog Light is a continuation of Water yet with the drones even more prominent this time round, encasing the listener in a warm cavalcade of sound. This is what it would be like living in a guitar amp 24/7, or to put it another way, listening to Earth’s classic Earth 2 nonstop on a never-ending loop. Aurally punishing yet simultaneously strangely soothing. Under Water is the album’s shortest piece at nearly a minute and a half long and captures the experimental, pioneering spirit of Kraftwerk around their formative 70-73 cycle (a period I believe to be criminally overlooked). An intriguing number and a personal favourite.
Oceans, or anything water related for that matter, always make me a little nervous, that sense of being at the mercy of a force much greater than you, becoming overwhelmed or consumed by the crashing waves. All of this is captured expertly by the track. I’ve never been in an isolation tank, but from what I can gather by people who have, it’s an all-out immersive experience, hence Deep Water proves the ideal sonic representation. The track concludes the record in a suitably tranquil manner.
Sometimes there’s a danger when artists are so prolific in their output that the quality of the music suffers, that’s certainly not the case with Jason Stöll. As with all his aforementioned past and present work, Xeeland is another example of top-notch musicianship which manages to soothe and thrill in equal measure. Definitely one to pick up.
Label: God Unknown Records
Band Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Reza Mills
