The Ills – Lost Trams EP

When I was surfing around the web trying to find some information about this band, I didn’t get very far. Most of the descriptions across the web are just copy-and-paste descriptions that seem to be used in every necessary place you could think of. The description I am talking about can be found on their Myspace page, and even on their Last.fm page. Unfortunately for me, this is all I know about the band, so just regurgitating the material certainly isn’t fun or entertaining to read.

So this is the Ills in a nutshell: Their name came about as a joke after they made their first song in September 2008, and since then they’ve gained momentum, found their own sound, and began playing shows in their hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia. Fun. Now here they are today putting out their most recent EP after putting out their first one back in September of 2009. I haven’t listened to the first EP, but the latest one is a beautiful, thought-evoking album in which they force you to paint a picture in your head to go along with the music. Along with that, their music also creates an environment, (known as a soundscape/dreamscape to some), and it’s as dreamy and lethargic as you could hope for and the second track “Vulnerable” is a prime example of this. The following track “To Go Through the Silence” also fits into this category as well, until about halfway through they suddenly kick things up and the cymbals crash until we’re at the end of the song. The opening track “Immense” is a bit different from these other two, and you can hear it for yourself right below. The final 7-minute track “Broken Wheel on the Ambulance Car” is more electronically dominated than the rest of the songs, resulting in an electrified atmosphere present throughout the entire song. You shouldn’t waste any more time listening to what I have though – download the EP through the link below and find out for yourself! Happy listening!

Immense –

Vulnerable –

My Rating: 6/10
Genre/ Tags: Instrumental, Post-Rock, Shoegaze
Lost Trams EP: Tracklist
1.) Immense
2.) Vulnerable
3.) To Go Through the Silence
4.) Broken Wheel on the Ambulance Car

The Ills on Myspace
Download the “Lost Trams” EP right HERE directly from the EXITlabel
Download their first EP right HERE