Sodacake – Do You Read Me (Red Ears Music)

0

Sodacake are an Australian duo with a penchant for classical and electronic music, and on Everything’ Always these two loves are brought together with precision and grace. The most successful tracks on Everything’ Always merge the two influences most overtly. A good example is the title track and the album’ opener, Do You Read Me, a gentle builder that adds layers and loops in the same way B. Fleischmann does on his recent album The Humbucking Coil. Like that release, delayed guitar lines bubble away on a medium-paced atmospheric groove that is seductive and catchy. Cymbalbow is another slow builder, (with the feel of a Hitchcock thriller), while Dogloop successfully combines location-specific environmental sound recordings (birds, wind, trees), deep groaning string pulses and a waves of racey piano motifs. Like Cornelius’ Drip, H20 (For Cello & 4 Dripping Taps) has some fun in the water. Oralie is a bold and succinct track, a real grower (over too soon), that combines cut-up spoken word and precise tuned percussion. It’s the album’ poppiest moment. Sodacake have composed these tracks with a real feel for space and instrumentation. The album is a beautifully recorded and mature release. Everything’ Always is probably more a solid collection of tracks than a great album, but it is obvious there is real compositional talent within its ambitious and well-realised sonic confines.

Dan Joyce

Share.

Comments are closed.