By Bryon Harris | Observer Contributor
Defend the Rhino is an instrumental post rock band you won’t want to miss out on. Drawing their influences from groups like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Explosions In The Sky, Defend the Rhino has a gorgeous sound and wonderful musicianship. Their latest CD There’s No Place Like Home shows off the undeniable potential of their works.
Starting off with “Milestone,” Defend the Rhino presents their musical identity with a soothing musical experience. “Milestone” begins with some ambient crackling accompanied by a set of piano chords. These are then slowly built upon adding tasteful guitar licks for about half the song. This progression then breaks into a steady groove bringing the composition together with layered guitar, bass, drums, and some additional production. The mix is professional and sounds as if it could be used in movies or television soundtracks, which speaks volumes about the musicianship and talent of Defend the Rhino.
The next track I’d like to pay homage to is “Eternal Love.” This beautiful instrumental leads us in with spacy synth sounds, accompanied by some symbol flourishes. Slowly building, soon both bass and piano come in followed by the addition of a simple drum beat. Defend the Rhino has the amazing ability to form gorgeous, memorable melodies without the use of vocals and their song “Eternal Love” is a great representation of how they can do this.
Another noteworthy track off of their album There’s No Place Like Home is Tokyo, Japan. This high energy song is sure to be a fan favorite, grabbing your attention right from the start with its entrancing guitar line and melodies from the strings. About half way through the song, the tune breaks into a more electronic sounding interlude which was a great addition to the song. Defend the Rhino does a great job of integrating a multitude of different sounds and styles into their work and Tokyo, Japan is no exception.
The album closes with a short outro called “Afterthought.” This track is a slower paced chilling track that does well to wrap up the album. Featuring mostly piano, this song is extremely relaxing and allows you to get lost in your thoughts as it takes you along for a gentle musical ride.
Overall, Defend the Rhino’s album There’s No Place Like Home is full of high quality, moving instrumental tracks that anyone could tune into and enjoy. This album would also be great for students looking for study music. Looking to the future, Defend the Rhino will be composing a soundtrack for the film “Killing the Frog” and scoring music for an audio book by Paul Barile. Defend the Rhino’s music is available for purchase on all major music platforms.
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