Chronicle contains aspects of industrial, techno, and ambient genres; with due sophistication, it meshes well with music from an earlier era.
Moodily suspended in a fragile balance
Opening with darkness, “Fracture” features innovative sound, and is very atmospheric as a hard-hitting bass pulse initiates a gradual development. The track resembles a Bill Leeb project—such as Front Line Assembly or Intermix. Melodic and rhythmic parts continue to grow, as the piece clearly has progressive aspects in spite of its dark tone. A short break halfway through, and a piano and pad melody spiral in, seeming to descend in pitch while in fact remaining static. The main melody, with foreboding qualities, sounds impactful without offering hope. Some stochastic rhythms wrap up the piece, which remains moodily suspended in a fragile balance.
“Idyll” is a lovely, ethereal piece, opening with running water sounds that soon evolves into an atmospheric recording resembling an ideal, past Edenic period; definitely a great piece to use for relaxation and to recharge. “Friction” contains two sequences, spaced tonally in a chromatic or lightly dissonant fashion as an electronic bassline kicks in. A haunting melody is introduced, sounding like the whistle of a child lost in a city. The track has an eldritch vibe, both dark and mysterious. The two sequences spiral on like sonic DNA, meeting for a moment with matching percussive elements, then parting. A lovely, fey call and response begins. The tempo of the song increases, and with it is momentum, and the sequenced melodies become more and more unpredictable; the pad melodies more haunting. Elements gradually fade as the song winds to a close.
Chronicle is a striking album that incorporates aspects from early industrial electronic compositions while taking them in new directions. Highly suggested, and an excellent way to introduce others to the power of these genres.
Chronicle is a testament to the music of ARC (aka Mark Shreeve and Ian Boddy) but more particularly in remembering Mark Shreeve who left us all way too early in 2022. Their show at E-Live in The Netherlands from 2007 was the only concert of theirs so far unreleased and hence Chronicle (DiN89).
Chronicle is available on DiN. [Bandcamp]
