Artist : KEPLER
Title : Fuck Fight Fail
Cat# RESLP001

Format : Ltd Vinyl LP
Label : Resonant
Barcode # N/A

Release Info :

UK indie label Resonant's first album project comes with the debut UK release of Canadian quartet Kepler, a band recommended to Resonant by the Constellation label.

Kepler's first full-length, "Fuck Fight Fail" is the culmination of over three years of the proverbial blood, sweat and tears, and the result of many months spent in the studio arranging, recording and fine-tuning. It follows a 7" single and a CD EP released in 1999 on Spectra Sonic Sound, a label based in their hometown of Ottawa, Ontario.

The band was conceived in the winter of 1997 by Jonathan, Samir and Mike in an attempt to prove that their previous musical incarnations were not completely bereft of talent, with Jeremy a latecomer to the fold. Their two releases to date were supremely sparse affairs, with the occasional interruption via sporadic bursts of white noise, and gained the band a small following through their (limited) exposure.

"Fuck Fight Fail" is both dense and restrained; suggested adjectives for use in description of this recording could be dark, unsettling, lush, brooding, calming, haunting, heart-warming, bleak, defeated, uplifting, depressing...? Maybe some would opt for 'horrible' or 'dull', but those able to tap into what lurks beneath the surface would hopefully support it's standing as a truly emotional and evocative work; an album of fragile, brittle, gentle beauty. Ultimately, the music herein is far more worthy of listening to than of wordplay or discussion.

Other points of interest; aside from various bit-part roles in other musical ensembles, Sheridan is employed as a mail clerk in a legal firm, while Georgekish-Watt works as a bike courier. It is not unknown for Jon to deliver something to Mike's office, and on these occasions they have been known to exchange pleasantries.

Over the course of their collective life in rock thus far, Kepler have played alongside such esteemed folk as The For Carnation, Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Tristeza, and threaten to spread their wings beyond the US and Canada when the will to do so permits.

To quote one American journalist, Kepler's sounds prompts the sub-genre 'whisper-core'; think Low, Red House Painters, Will Oldham et al...

"Fuck Fight Fail" will be released by Resonant on vinyl only (with the CD released through the US label Troubleman Unlimited), housed in a stunning sleeve adorned with metallic ink, complete with full colour inner.


Kepler are:

Jeremy Gara (guitar)
Jonathan Georgekish-Watt (guitar & vocals)
Samir Khan (bass, vocals, keyboards, guitar)
Michael Sheridan (drums, space machine)

With David Draves (piano, keyboards, vibes, backing vocals), Michael Feuerstack (backing vocals)


Tracklisting :

1. I Will Not Return Your Records
2. Loose Ground
3. Lighthouse
4. Upper Canada Fight Song
5. The Elegant Recline
6. The Way You Fall Apart
7. The Changing Light At Sandover
8. Box 3, Reel 5

Please note : these are the last available copies and all have small splits on the outer sleeve hence cheap price. It doesn't detract from the fantastic music at all but please be aware of this before buying

Reviews : 

New British label Resonant have turned to Canada in search of a band worthy of kick-starting their album catalogue. With the recommendation of pace-setters Constellation, Kepler - whom roam similarly barren landscapes as their Canadian cousins - are a forlorn quartet whose muted approach earned them the sub-category 'whisper core' from one US journalist. Whilst the extended instrumental passages of the album's centrepiece 'Upper Canada Fight Song' recall the elegance of Red House Painters and Low, it is the brooding keyboard drones and belated assault of 'The Changing Light At Sandover' that pulls Kepler's sound into the world of Slint and Mogwai, the addition of Jonathan Georgekish-Watt's mumbled, indifferent vocal also drawing comparisons to Bill Callahan, particularly on the very Smog-like 'Lighthouse'. Considered and economic in it's instrumentation, the album's hypnotic hold derives from the tension created by unresolved progressions and the ever-present threat of the crash. COMES WITH A SMILE

Kepler's landscape of choice on 'Fuck Fight Fail' (Resonant) is a bleak seascape as seen from a light-house, perfect to enjoy their delightfully gloomy songs. There are few new revelations on the theme's mastered by Low here, though connoisseurs of sadcore will warm to the title 'I Will Not Return Your Records'. Decently done!. NME

Displaying a hushed intensity with fragile lullabies building to carefully engineered climaxes. Kepler share a diffuse rock ethic with groups like GYBE with whom they have toured. If this Canadian quartet lack the focussed sparseness and fragile clarity of, for example early Low, they more than compensate with a looser feel and an experimental openness with inventive arrangements. "Upper Canada Fight Song" and "The Changing Light At Sandover" are particularly fine examples of their subtly drawn out style. THE WIRE

Kepler are feeling a little down today.  It's no different than yesterday, the day before, or last year.  But they don't need your sympathy, not yours or anybody's. They live for it. After all, it's what allowed them the means to record their debut full-length, the angstfully titled Fuck Fight Fail. It's all very dramatic. During the course of eight songs, these guys mourn their way to personal fitness over dramatic, synthesized string sections, weeping guitar and the occasional airy effects.  But rather than whining overwrought emo sentiments about dark Septembers and forgotten mix tapes, Kepler go in for darker and artier statements like, "There's blood on the sidewalk, Bones behind the garbage."  Of course, there's no doubt that emo has left some kind of impression on these guys, and it shows up in their songs from time to time. Still, Kepler are closer in execution to traditional slowcore outfits like Codeine and Rex than "emocore" monstrosities Sense Field and Fireside. Fuck Fight Fail opens with the glistening, minute-and-a-half-long instrumental, "I Will Not Return Your Records," spotlighting Jeremy Gara's glossy guitarwork and Michael Sheridan on "space machine." "Light House" follows the tidal, almost shoegazer "Loose Ground," with frontman Jonathan Georgekish-Watt delivering the refrain, "Everyday, my sentence is remanded/ My execution is stayed" over wind chime guitar and ex-Pitchforkian Samir Khan's cello-like basslines. The record's highlight, though, comes in the dead center, with "Upper Canada Fight Song."  Over nine minutes, the song gradually builds to Godspeed-esque crescendo that peaks with crashing cymbals and huge drums that drown out nearly every other element. So, yeah. Kepler are better than I'd hoped they might be, despite melodramatic song titles like "The Way You Fall Apart," and a band name that references the old astronomer guy who discovered that planets move in elliptical paths. Still, they could stand to shed some of their emo tendencies in lieu of something a little more artistically viable. Fuck Fight Fail's louder territory, and even its more 4AD areas, are really the album's shining moments. Regardless, they've got a great deal of promise, and their next album will likely blow this one away. PITCHFORK

Kepler immediately invokes parallels to the beautiful sadness behind Mogwai's EP, the slow pace of any music written by Low or the mellow love songs of Mojave 3. Fuck Fight Fail, a three-year project, is a minimalist affair of guitar, drums and bass with tender, soft-spoken vocals that really do melt your heart. Formed in 1997, Kepler makes music that catches your attention and at times can catch you with your guard down. The wonderfully named "Upper Canada Fight Song" is over nine minutes of music designed for some light pillow talk (?), while "The Changing Light at Sandover" is pure Slint, with its intense quiet-to-loud jam session. The only disappointment with this record is how quickly it ends. With only eight songs clocking at in at just under 40 minutes, the journey Kepler takes you on comes to an unexpected ending. EXCLAIM!

This is an ultimately impossible band to describe in 200 words or less. The Ontario-based KEPLER have been together for over three years now and have been captivating people across North America since they got it all started. The softspoken KEPLER is at once brooding and melancholically unsettling. Combining elements of jazz and the lonesome sound of a slide guitar at times, KEPLER paint on a canvas of lost dreams, love and inspiration. Comparisons to RED HOUSE PAINTERS, CODEINE and even a bit of fellow-Canadians GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR are all justified if not entirely dismissive of their ingenuity in creating beautiful music. RADIOTAKEOVER

Soft melodies and an unnerving atmosphere provide listening that is simultaneously dark and intriguing. The troubling tone plays in elegant contract with the artful and expansive arrangements, and seems to reveal itself like a deep, dark secret. At once beautiful and ironic, Kepler creates insightful songs with depth and clarity that can withstand inspection but are best understood by simply listening. SPANK

Ottawa's Kepler follow their brilliant debut EP, This Heart Is Painted On, a patient exercise in minimalist interplay and occasional bursts of scorching white noise, with an enriched sound on Fuck Fight Fail that is due to the addition of new guitarist Jeremy Gara and a wider palette of instrumentation including organs and vibes. Recorded over a period of two years, this debut full-length release displays a depth of thought uncommon in a band so young. Taking notes from Codeine and Bedhead, Kepler joins the ranks of their heroes with their own characteristic spin. "Upper Canada Fight Song" and "The Changing Light At Sandover" bring all the pieces together without relying too heavily on effects pedals and overdubs. "The Elegant Recline" and "I Will Not Return Your Records" soundtrack rain-swept walks at night. FFWD

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