Album Review: Gates - You Are All You Have Left To Fear EP

There are a few acts out there who manage to blend the best features of indie and post-rock music and make it sound captivating. However, we all know that famous quote - "its not about the quantity, but the quality". One such band are the New Jersey-based quintet Gates, who continue working very hard and don't stop to surprise me with their sounds.

Today, I wanted to share with you the remastered version of their radiant EP You Are All You Have Left To Fear (2012). Actually, I've had the pleasure of sharing bits of that release with you back in April, but after listening to the renewed material, I realized that a fraction of the EP is simply not enough and I think the alternative/post-rock/indie fans in Stereofox would definitely appreciate what's going on below.

The band signed with Pure Noise Records back in April this year, so that might be one of the reasons for the re-touch You Are All You Have Left To Fear is getting. But let's go back on the EP. I strongly recommend listening the whole thing from the first to the last song without skipping a single beat. Perfectly aligned and floating from each other, the tracks' emotion fluctuate between what i would call a mild/motivational aggression to humble emotional confession.

It would be really hard to say which tracks stand out in the EP as I do consider all compositions (perfectly) attached to each other. Depending on what you're looking for, I reckon you will have your own favourites. "To Whose Who Fell..." and "...And Those Who Carry On" is definitely more post-rockish, "Skyline" feels nearly ambient and the first few tracks, among which "Like This You Mean" are... hmm, alternative/indie? Nonetheless, as I said - don't skip a track. Enjoy the complete musical journey.

Gates and Moving Mountains are definitely the 2 bands I would pinpoint as the leaders in the genre, but the more I track band's sound evolution, the more I realize they are extremely different and (in my opinion) headed in different directions sound-wise. Having such artists around is a gift for all fans of that kind of music.

I hope you enjoy it and Gates - if you read that - looking forward to your new material!