OPM: Belief in Music

Imrryr – Catalyst

A bold, cinematic sci-fi vision rendered in shades of prog, electro and classic soundtrack work. Underpinning the music is a science fiction story of weird technology, the quest for immortality and unintended consequences. The story is told thru instrumental works that rely on mood, title and maybe some subconscious cinematic associations. The music is big and draws heavily from the electronic side of prog – hints of ELP here and there, shades of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds everywhere. 

The electronic soundtracks of the ‘80s are an inspiration, too – think John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi, and untold, semi anonymous composers for hundreds of forgettable B-movies with synth-drenched, rock-adjacent scores (it’s worth mentioning the drums are very rock-coded on most/all of this). If you seek big-screen electronica with narrative ambitions and quasi retro vibes, this will scratch the itch nicely. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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God Ribbon – “Ego” / “Driving with My Eyes Closed”

A dual single release that pairs a yowly post punk tune with a lo-fi take on the kind of millennial art rock of mid period Radiohead and contemporaries. “Ego” is the post punker, with its almost-howled vocal, reminiscent of a mix of Nick Cave, Jello Biafra and maybe a touch of Mark E. Smith. 

The second track is a bit more understated, with a slow, driving backbeat, layers of fuzzy guitars and restrained but impassioned vocal. That one will remind you of the kind of indie rock that sprang up in the wake of Radiohead’s Kid A to In Rainbows era. An interesting pairing, to be sure, but one that suggests a wide-ranging set of influences and musical pursuits.

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Robert Dallas Gray – The Vallum

Guitar-led instrumental sojourns thru musical territory that’s by turns pensive, elegiac, welcoming and weird. The playing is excellent and understated – no flashy virtuosos runs or uber complex riffs, just relaxed, heartfelt guitar lines unspooling at a measured pace. Most of these tunes are intimate and warm, but they take an occasional foray into the forbidding and uneasy, abandoning the guitar (or twisting it mercilessly) and just letting noisy drones and eerie soundscapes unfold.

You can get lost in these spaces, or at least lose a bit of yourself and just soak in the sound and emotional resonances of them. A lot of this feels like post rock stripped down to the least possible viable soundset – the mesmeric guitar lines and washes of tone remain, but instead of building to big rock-based crescendos, everything hangs back and lets the guitar do all the heavy lifting. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Slater & Rojinski – “Journeys to an End”

A 13-minute excursion into haunting drone, unsettling soundscape and dark ambient. Shifting sheets of highpassed noise rise over clusters of harmonic motion slipping past one another in the dark. Space is expanded and compressed until size lacks all meaning. 

Scrapes and shuffles and snaps push against each other and jostle, quietly, for position. It’s pleasantly odd and dark and would probably make a pretty nice soundtrack to a weird horror movie or a very weird nature doc. 

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Theo Kidd – Believers

Slinky, seductive folk pop with some lovely guitar work and a distinctive sound. The first thing that leaps out at you about these songs is the strangely appealing rhythmic pulse – a trait that is obvious within seconds and holds true, more or less, thru the whole album. The second thing, when it kicks in seconds later, are the whisper-sung vocals that sound like a less depressed Lou Reed with more of a pop edge. 

Then there are some nice guitars, little bits of synth and production work, and, hey, some pretty catchy songs, too! A little bluesy, a little folky and, let’s face it, there’s got to be some punk and post punk in there too. A solid collection of appealing tunes with an unusual, but very cool, aesthetic approach.

(Listened to the entire EP)

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