Enter another slab of music marked “drift” — the ears aren’t perfect, but they pick up enough clues to spark some mental images of the scene of the drone: maybe synths spread out in crescent moon formation, a tape deck could plug into the chain somewhere, multi-multi-instrumentalizing, probably plenty of pedals, perhaps layering live input by looping (tones arrive and come back around with regularity), perhaps fusing multiple discrete takes together all studio-style. With gear and process obscured, the real Need To Knows become evident quick. Does it progress? Does it engage? Does it zone you out? Does it confound? What are you listening for? For what are you listening?
Trust in Rambutan, known to loved ones as Eric Hardiman, to rise way above “drift” standards and make each minute count. Inverted Summer marks his full-length vinyl debut after 30+ cassettes and CD-Rs under the moniker, along with dozens of releases with blown-out psych outfit Burnt Hills and omnivorous noise/drone duo Century Plants. “Topology” offers mighty details from its first moments. A low-end bas(e)(s)line all hiss and hum holds things down. Lead synth phrases between “sear” and “stain” shake up the atmosphere. Radar blips recur. We lock in. When the flute-ish samples drop into the mix, we climb higher. When an oscillator buzzes through a molten doom progression, we reach the peak, and find Hardiman’s flag already up there.
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Inverted Summer is out now via Fabrica Records.
• Rambutan: http://rambutan.bandcamp.com
• Fabrica Records: http://fabricarecords.wordpress.com
• Tape Drift: http://www.tapedrift.com