In an instrumental spaceship, there's no room for back talk. Brothers Jared and Michael Bell release their third complete album (not counting remixes and joint EPs) and it's a calm but varied soundscape of slow polyrhythmic drumming and gentle melodies. That's "gentle" not in the sense of "hippy-dippy folksy" gentle, but "thoughtful, intelligent, and intriguing" gentle. Tempos vary, certainly, but if they run fast, it's not to exhaust you but to exhilarate.
"Trichromatic" starts with a quick sound check of the drum kit and begins a well-paced journey with keys and a few weird noises subtly filling in the background. "Ghost Clock" might be the chimes for a town square clock in Logan's Run, except that after the hour is chimed, the guitars kick in for a more urgent droning period of inner reflection. The slow pacing of "Interiors" recalls Swedish art films of the '60s while "Bedroom Anthem" subtly remakes Mrs. Robinson's theme from The Graduate. All this leads up to title track "Shutter Release." This complex piece begins with a slow and simple chime pattern, but then takes off with an urgent drum beat that is soon overcome by a melodic chase through a digital meadow of a '90s animated music video. Lymbyc Systym provides electronic music that neither bores you like an over-long Kraftwerk set, nor freaks you out with weird pseudo space sounds. It's thinking man's electronica, and hearkens back to the structured jazz of two generations ago. - Ink 19 |
