First off, those of you who had a good time with Invention will find much to enjoy here. Whatever you think of his in-between output with Busdriver, Radioinactive, or Frosty, this album will restore your faith and reward your Invention-spawned expectations. The sounds are still warm and inviting (with plenty of woodwind), and there's much in the way of the artist's wiley, hyperactive beats. As far as the uninitiated are concerned, Of Snowdonia presents a starting point that can easily match the quality of the artist's debut. That's not to say the albums are identical, but they're more or less two birds of a feather. The vibe here is just slightly moodier and perhaps somewhat less aimless. The progressions take more dominance over his distinctive aural pallet so that we have something akin to songs rather than just quirkily pulsing ether.
Still, there is much floating around to be done on this release, and this could never be called dance or pop music. It's definitely something of its own, and if I were to refer to peer touchstones, I'd cite those doing collage-style instrumental hip-hop (Madlib, Prefuse 73) as well as those doing plaintive, if bustling with beats, organic electronica (Squarepusher, Four Tet). In "Something Bells," there is a sing-songy chorus that incrementally fades in and out before rising to the fore at the minute and a quarter point. It recedes again for a supporting acoustic guitar melody, then comes back with fresh adornments.
This is Daedelus at his finest, letting decidedly different melodic passages ebb and flow against one-another at erratic increments. The technique is employed on the majority of Of Snowdonia, as well as on the best of Invention's tracks. It's easy to get lost in this sort of thing. There's always a twist or turn to keep you on your toes, like a good episode of Oz. What makes Daedelus so endearing is a willingness to win over with contemplative (and occasionally kinda hokey) hooks, but with an underlying doggedness to pulling the rug out from under them. Daedlus makes music replete with trap doors. So while the tones might take you to a very "Peter & the Wolf" place, there's still a very modern edginess to his particular brand of ADD.
Unpredictability is usually a saving grace within a work of art, so when someone as aurally assured and winning as Daedelus uses it, we are treated to something truly exceptional. I can't say enough good things about this album, so I'll back up and consider what people might say as detraction. I suppose one could take everything I've said thus far and reinterpret the artist's sound as cluttered and lacking focus. To this I'd say that Daedelus isn't the only innovative artist crowding the samples on his tracks (Aphex, Dalek, Manitoba), and his clutter is just as (if not more) consuming. And once you become accustomed to this sort of blithe cacophony, you'll find more structure and intricacy to the progressions than you initially perceived. It took me awhile to fully get with this album, but it eventually felt right, like Invention. Patience as well as a forward-thinking mind will make Of Snowdonia a more than solid purchase for any fan of experimental forms.
1. Snowed In
2. A Sneaking Suspicion
3. Aim True
4. Taking Wing
5. Shinkansen
6. Scaling Snowdon
7. Telling Meaning
8. Something Bells
9. Dumbfound
10. Pocket Watch Pulse
11. Overdressed
12. Was Waiting
13. Hiraethus
More about: Daedelus
