It’s pretty much a given that an n5MD release is going to provide exquisitely recorded beauty and melancholy. Evolving from it’s original IDM roots it now can almost single-handedly lay claim to defining post-rock blends of electronics and instrumental rock. It comes as no surprise then, that label founder Mike Cadoo, going under the guise of Bitcrush, is capable of delivering an album that is a quintessential summation of where the label is currently at.
Acoustic drums with plenty of room reverb clang under the washes of synth and guitar drone, accentuated by electronic pulses and blips. The sound is huge, the epic-ness Cadoo strives for achieved with aplomb. A spattering of vocal tracks – ‘Of Days’, ‘Epilogue To Tides’ and ‘To Drown’ add a layer of variety to the otherwise distant wall of sound aesthetic. “To Drown’ is also notable for it’s overt use of programmed rhythms, as opposed to the organic drums of the rest of the album. The album can have a tendency to wash over the listener in the wrong context, with it’s consistently languid tempos and simple chordal progressions but, in the right place – and I would suggest up loud and in the dark – its a moving and peaceful body of work.
Adrian Elmer
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