Lunatic Soul - II

Artist: Lunatic Soul

Album: II

Release: 2010

“… Banished to everlasting wanderings ”

Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? Like, you are walking down the sidewalk and you feel eyes on you but when you look around there’s no one to be seen? Being the superstitious person that I am, two options run through my head. One: the fairies are here to get their revenge on me for taking a stone from Newgrange over the summer. Two: Some kindly spirit is passing through the area revisiting important places in his or her life before moving on. Lunatic Souls second release amply titled II is a grand representation of the latter. II is the musical continuation of the themes Lunatic Souls mastermind and Riverside front man Mariusz Duda started back in 2008 with the first release under this name. The idea of Lunatic Soul is one of life and death. The first record centered around a man’s passing and his spirit coming to terms with this fact. So in II, the spirit is wandering and searching for a purpose. If you haven’t guessed already, this is quite the haunting little record. It’s a soft and moody listen that takes awhile to settle in your mind. For how simple the melodies and how melancholic the mood is, it’s surprising how calming this record can be. It’s like Peter Gabriel met Steven Wilson in the early 90’s and decided to record something together. Hidden in all the songs are homage’s to Porcupine Tree when they were still exploring the depths of space and Mr. Gabriel’s straight-to-the-point style lyrics of his solo works. One song specifically, Transition, is one of the best pieces of music I’ve ever heard. But even with a statement like that, it doesn’t overshadow the other songs on II. What we have here is a rare kind of inward thinking album that doesn’t get caught up in the over ambitiousness other concept albums do. It’s simple and that’s what astounds me. There’s no electric guitar here – only acoustic. This stylistic approach to the music adds so much to the albums overall mood that I can’t imagine this project with electric instruments. It may sound strange, but electric instruments would take away the pureness of the record. This motif of simplicity is also present the albums cover. Both Lunatic Soul records have the same image for their covers but one is the polar negative of the other. Death and life – black and white – yin and yang. II transports us to a world of mist and memories so vivid and inspiring that it’s a sort of tragedy when the album ends. I can only hope there will be more Lunatic Soul releases in the future. One of these days I’ll have to listen to I and II back to back and see what happens. I have a feeling whatever occurs will be magical. Here’s hoping Mr. Duda continues producing high quality work like this because Lunatic Soul is truly brilliance realized in musical form.

Porcupine Tree - Recordings

Artist: Porcupine Tree

Album: Recordings

Release: 2000

“Here’s a hymn to those that disappear”

Kscope have been on a roll this year. With the recent reissues of Nosound’s Sol29 and No-Man’s Wild Opera back in May – not to mention the upcoming Lunatic Soul’s second record and a new album from Engineers – the young label has become somewhat of a musical mecca for me. I don’t think any label has held as many artists that interest me except maybe Century Media circa 2004. And as if to place the cherry on top of this musical sundae, they have been reissuing Porcupine Tree’s back catalogue. So when I heard the long-out-of-print Recordings was being rereleased, I was positively giddy with glee. This is the one release from the band that I don’t know a whole lot about just because how obscure the songs are. It’s near impossible to find good quality samples of the songs online, (in my earlier years, I was what you may call a “pirate”), and it was sent out in a very limited quantity, and honestly I’m not paying two hundred dollars American just to complete my collection. I had given up obtaining this record. So was finally able to fulfill that dream when this lost gem arrived at my doorstep. Recordings is a collection of b-sides from the bands second, more radio-friendly phase. But you wouldn’t know it from listening to this record. Those songs that fall into the three-to-five-minute of most singles sound far too abstract for radio-play and everything else is vast and would be quite overwhelming to hear on the radio. Most of the songs featured here sound like they belong in film scores – something I would never thought I would say about the bands music. We have songs that range from simple piano melodies to long atmospheric stretches of sound reminiscent of Porcupine Tree’s earlier works. What surprises me is how well those two styles blend and flow into one another here. Returning to my film score reference earlier, I could see these songs playing in some kind of modern space documentary. Like one that you would find at a science museum of some sort. The spacey, ephemeral, style also translates to the albums cover. While it may seem like an ordinary grounded cover, there is something otherworldly about it. It’s almost as if the man is trying so hard to seem normal that it comes off as abnormal. I think this is a fitting choice that accurately reflects this phase of Porcupine Tree’s music. This is band that continues to redefine what it means to play thought provoking and complex music – even when they chose not to. Recordings might be their most interesting release and is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Now if I can only find a copy of Transmission IV, I’ll be set!

Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago

Artist: Shearwater

Album: The Golden Archipelago

Release: 2010

“Gone from the house to the snow like a wandering light”

Rain is a very interesting phenomena. It can stir up a myriad of emotions including but not limited to sadness, tranquility, and peace. And for an Oregonian such as myself – it’s a welcome change from the dull and predictable sun. For me, rain is nature attempting to clean up all the filth we dump on our earth. But emotionally, it’s an opportunity to wander around in the recesses of my mind. I find rain storms to be a calming experience. These kind of mixed feelings are what Austin’s own Shearwater deliver to us on their latest release The Golden Archipelago. Just like the cover suggests, the listener is drifting aimlessly along in the ocean through a warm rainstorm. We are taken on a sonic journey through a chain of islands with only the wind as our guide. Sounding like if Nick Drake decided to record a post-rock album, The Golden Archipelago is quite the unique little record. Its captivating mix of 70’s folk rock and modern progressive influences make for quite an amazing listening experience. I can confidently say that I’ve never heard anything like it. The magic captured here with little more than keys, drums, and guitars is nothing short of inspiring. Add in vocalist Jonathan Meiburg’s sullen and relaxing croon to the mix and we are left with something that sounds like it doesn’t belong in this world. Yet with all the subtle and soft music featured here, Shearwater isn’t afraid to throw in the mild tempest or two just to keep the listener on their toes. Its during these sections that drummer Thor, (yep, his name is freaking Thor), Harris shines. His ability to keep me interested in a simple beat is astounding. There’s just so much heart put into his instrument. I’m reminded a bit of Neil Peart’s solo work and that’s never a bad thing. Another comparison I could make is with Eluvium’s latest album Similes. Both works are so steeped in atmosphere that it becomes almost impossible not to be taken somewhere. If one were to listen to both these records back to back, I have no doubt they would transcend this life into something far better. This album being my first experience with Shearwater, I had no idea what to expect. But by the time The Golden Archipelago ended I was lost in this world. I didn’t want it to end. In a rarity for me, I listened to the record again immediately after my first listen just to stay lost in this world Shearwater have created. And it is truly a beautiful world.

Nosound - Sol29

Artist: Nosound

Album: Sol29

Release 2005

“I remember you, watching through the window”

We’ve all had at one point in our lives where emotions have gotten the better of us. A time where we threw caution to the wind and raced blindly after our desires. Sometimes that gamble pays off and we gain what we so desperately wanted. And sometimes, we don’t. I think of the latter when I listen Nosound’s debut record, Sol29. It’s a somber, the-morning-after affair that speaks right to the emotional core of us all. Playing like if Pink Floyd collaborated with Brain Eno, Sol29 is a rather low-key record. Spacey guitars intermixed with mellow keys create an atmosphere that allows the listener to forget the troubles of their lives. Add in mainman Giancarlo Erra’s sobering, straight-from-the-diary style lyrics about lost loves and forlorn relationships and we have a record that is liable to make its listener cry. There seems to be an overarching theme lyrically relation to the idea of loss. It’s as if a person wakes up to find the person they thought would be beside them isn’t. It’s this kind of crushing brutality is portrayed in each song on this record. An empty bed. A missed encounter. A lost love. What image can better represent this kind of record then an abandoned bench. The cover(s) of both the original 2005 out of print release and the recent reissue both show an empty bench surrounded by a stark and lonely looking environment. These images could almost be the core of what we regard as being human. We sit at out park bench waiting for that much fabled chance encounter that may never come. Nosound manages to capture this sad fact of life on Sol29. And while the original cover has a much happier looking image, it still shows an empty place waiting to be filled. Personally, I prefer the reissue’s cover to the originals. In a way, it’s a bit more honest than the original and I for one appreciate that. This was a very hard record for me to listen to. It brought up a lot of memories from my younger, more ignorant years. Some of these memories I’ve never really gotten over. But with this album I was able to revisit these memories with a more mature perspective and accept the fact that everyone has done foolhardy things in the name of passion. Sol29 is easily the most honest album I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. And its not one I’ll soon forget.

Oceansize - Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up

Artist: Oceansize

Album: Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up

Release: 2010

“This is how the wars get started”

Let it be known – with this record, I have reached a personal milestone. Drum roll please… I now own an album with a pair of breasts on the cover. Now at the time when I purchased Oceansize’s latest opus, I had no idea of this fact. It was only when I had the album in my hand that it dawned on me as to what I was looking at – and only when I flipped through the flipbook-style inlay of the record featuring a rotating naked headless manikin. The image itself is a beautiful way to showcase what the Manchester, England five-piece is aiming to achieve with Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up. I am reminded of the classic Joy Division cover of Unknown Pleasures and the music itself only adds to this idea. Oceansize takes a bit of a departure from the mellower sound they developed on their last record and replace it with a kind of Mastodon-meets-Joy Division-esk wall of sound with some Nirvana thrown in for good measure. There’s not a single moment on Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up that lets you relax. It’s a powerful record that can swallow you whole if you let it and aims to leave its listener guessing what will be coming next. We have shifts that vary from Robert Fripp-esk soundscapes to mind crushing guitar riffs. Not even I could have predicted the inclusion of a female vocalist on A Penny’s Weight. The guitar work on Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up deserves a special mention as well. Oceansize have managed to capture some of the most apocalyptic doomy riffs I have ever heard. Complemented with a the sounds of an orchestral style piano and vocalist Mike Vennart’s calm yet powerful style of singing make this album something special. One gets a sense of swimming through concrete when listening to Self Preserved while the Bodies Float Up. All its sharp cutting gravel will scratch you and the tar will stain you but when all is said and done, you were glad you took the dive. But with how bloated with sound this record is, I wouldn’t recommend starting with Oceansize’s latest. If you are new to the band, take their 2007 release Frames for a spin and ease yourself into their unique style of chaos. It’s the calmer complement to this unrelenting record. But really you can’t do wrong with this band. Oceansize is one of the rising stars of the progressive world and should not be ignored.

No-Man - Wild Opera

Artist: No-Man

Album: Wild Opera

Release: 1996

“Maybe there’s more to life then writing songs, maybe not”

If you know me at all, you know that I’m a die-hard Steven Wilson fanatic. What this means is I’m willing to buy anything he graces with his presence, I mean, anything he works on. This is how I discovered No-Man, Mr. Wilsons first foray into the music scene. Pre-dating Porcupine Tree, No-Man’s history goes all the way back to 1986, (just to give you some perspective on me, almost four years before I was born), when Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness – the left and right sides of the brain respectively – met up and started the project. Their second album, Flowermouth in 1994, is one of my favorite albums. It’s sweeping soundscapes and romantic lyrics can sweep the listener off their feet. Maybe this is why I find their next album, Wild Opera, so interesting. It fails to capture what Flowermouth did. The romantic poetry has been replaced with gritty, almost grunge-sounding lyrics reminiscent of a breakup letter. And 80’s sounding hip-hop beats alongside distorted guitars have taken over the soft, calming soundscapes. Normally, this would be a bad thing and I would dismiss the band for changing their sound to suit a labels wishes. But No-Man have seemingly done the impossible and created something so outlandish that it works. Everything about Wild Opera screams of two musicians so fed up with the industry that they made the ultimate satire record to voice their intentions to remain true to themselves. The lyrics, sound, even the cover’(s) manage to convey this idea. The original ’96 cover has a very 50’s propaganda-ish feel to it that give a false feeling of accessibility to the listener. The woman is pointing at something and chuckling. I relate this to the musicians laughing at the direction the music industry is taking. To a person browsing a record store, this would look like it fit in with the Blur albums a shelf over. This theme continues on the recent reissue, (the copy I acquired.) The people are gazing out over a very bloated-looking lake and a wall of stone. The lake is representative of how oversaturated and bloated musicians sound’s have become and the walls are the labels leering almost menacingly over them. It dosnt look like the family – Wilson & Bowness – want to go swimming here. As for the lyrics, I found myself laughing more than once while listening to the album. I mean, how could you not with lyrics like “Not even housewives hooked on heroin can understand the awful mess I’m in”. Tim’s lyrics reek of intentional irony. And finally the music itself. Wild Opera was created during a time when musicians were moving away from the idea of solos and the grunge movement happening at the time spearheaded this idea. On a funny side note, one of the songs is called “My revenge on Seattle”… think of that what you will. Wilson mocks this notion by combining two styles that are completely at end with each other, hip-hop and rock. But it’s because of this decision that Wild Opera sounds a unique as it does. This album really is the black sheep of No-Man’s discography. The definitive anti-rock album. I love it.

Eluvium - Similes

Artist: Eluvium

Album: Similes

Release: 2010

“Appended to the breeze, talking amongst the trees”

Portland is an interesting city. The majority of the time it’s raining yet the city’s inhabitants are some of the friendliest people you can ever meet. Normally those two things could never coexist. But Portlanders can often be seen smiling while they walk down Burnside or Hawthorne in the rain. This is my ideal listening experience for Eluviums new release Similes. I find it appropriate not only because Matthew Cooper, aka Eluvium, resides in the rose city, but because all of Eluviums music just seems to make more sense on a rainy day. His music manages to both capture the beauty of the city and subdue the listener into a rather submissive state. One feels at ease like you’re floating above the clouds, above the storms below. It’s as though the paintings of life around us are melting away before our eyes and what we are left with is the primal beauty of our natural world. One can't help but smile while experiencing this album. Musically, this is Eluviums most groundbreaking release yet. The soft piano keys create an atmosphere of relaxation and no sound ever overstays its welcome. The soundscapes captured here are an ever rotating door of audible clarity. As one sound exits, another enters to take its place. Like players on a stage, each instrument plays its part to perfection until the final curtain falls. But this is not the biggest thing about Similes. The most shocking part of this recording is the fact that it has lyrics! Until now, all five of his records have been entirely instrumental with the occasional sound clip. It’s natural for musicians to try and expand their sound in interesting ways. So adding lyrics into the mix was the next logical step for Eluvium. I view this decision in the same way I view Steven Wilson’s choices lyrically on Insurgentes. The lyrics are meant to complement the music, not the other way around. So the addition of lyrics helps the record by adding a whole new level of sound that could never exist on his previous releases. It’s not often I come across music that can take my breath away. But with Similes, Mr. Eluvium has created something magical. I can’t wait till the next rainy day!