Belong’s return with Realistix IX is quite a success. They improve significantly on where they had left off and also make use of their noisy aesthetics, combining the two into a satisfying sonic collection.
Expanding upon the seed that the duo planted a while back with Common Era
After more than 13 years of silence, Belong (aka Michael Jones and Turk Dietrich) return to where they left off in the past decade. While the duo has always been close to noisy textures, it was their last LP, Common Era, that began utilizing them into pop songs. While that record may have left off some of the entrancing atmospheres of their first album, it was definitely an interesting change of pace, one that probably required a bit more time to fully bloom into a really satisfying record. Fast forward—quite—a few years and you’re now listening to Realistic IX, the LP that expands upon the seed that the duo planted a while back with Common Era.
Realistic IX shines most when it opts for this pop approach, which is a welcomed step forward, as I said, I myself preferred the duo’s more ambient type of tracks, but on this new record the tables have turned, as it is the pop songs that impress the most. They’re always really catchy, nice and direct tracks, they seem to know that there’s no need to do anything particularly fancy when their main riffs and hooks are just so solid. The sound of these cuts is also pretty alluring, the guitars are quite lo-fi and give the songs this really textured feel that makes them pop; that being said, the production is always clean, so even these rougher tones end up being smoothened out in the end, giving the whole LP a bright sound that’s especially noticeable in how snappy the drums are.
On the other hand, there’s also a lot of atmospheric tracks here. They aren’t quite purely ambient pieces, as even in these instrumental cuts you still have drumbeats playing; truthfully, I do believe the percussion hinders these tracks sometimes, as it prevents them from really setting an atmosphere, but there are exceptions to this rule, especially with the final track “AM / PM,” which I’ll get to later.
For starters, the opener “Realistic (I’m Still Waiting)” is easily one of Belong’s best songs. The way it kicks off right off the bat makes it a great way to open up the record, and I just can’t help but be dragged in by how quickly the song develops; just 10 seconds of introduction and the track has already moved into its first verse, and it does so really smoothly, as every chord change throughout the song happens as sharply as this initial switch up does, so you’re constantly getting a new motif to hum along to. And speaking of, the riffs in this track are the catchiest on the whole record, they’re so straightforward and simple that they operate in a really ’90s shoegaze fashion, where it doesn’t really matter how sophisticated the playing may be when the sound is so satisfying on its own.
The following “Difficult Boy” is rather similar with its approach, but it lays off the vocals entirely, only offering some crunchy and energetic guitar playing to keep the momentum of the opening song. Following with “Crucial Years,” the album goes even deeper into this purely noisy instrumental approach, leaving aside any guitar riffs and focusing purely on the noise; there’s still some tonality here, mainly with the background chords that are what ultimately keep the track so gentle and soft, instead of letting it be a chaotic noise fest.
Effective shoegaze ::
“Souvenir” strikes back with yet another catchy shoegaze hit. It is pretty similar to “Realistic (I’m Still Waiting),” but it’s a lot cleaner and smoother than the opener. It doesn’t strike with super dense guitar riffs nor with the same immediacy of its sister track, instead it’s quite a bit brighter and punchier, especially with how snappy and almost plasticky the snares sound here. The piece is just as catchy overall, but with a quite different feel, as it is a pleasant and ethereal track instead of an immediate blast.
The two following tunes, “Image of Love” and “Bleach,” don’t particularly spark as their siblings do—they can’t quite settle a proper atmosphere due to their background grooves. The noise in both tracks is pretty satisfying, more notably in “Bleach,” which really emphasizes its chord changes, they become really apparent due to its repetitiveness and each one comes as a new wind blowing in favor of the track. Still, both pieces feel a bit timid, as satisfying as their noise may be, it does end up being tiring after a while.
The record picks back up with its last two tracks, with “Jealousy” being yet another effective shoegaze number, and the last track in particular being quite the change of pace. “AM / PM” is not far different from tracks like “Crucial Years” or the just mentioned “Image of Love,” as it opts to make the noise its key element. Where it switches things up is in its rhythms, because instead of offering some catchy drum beats to keep energy levels high, “AM / PM” decided it wanted to be minimal techno when it was a kid, and there it is now. While a really simple track overall, the use of noise on a techno beat like this isn’t quite the norm, as often times you get some really clean and slick futuristic pieces in this style; “AM / PM” stays true to the sound of its LP, and instead makes minimal techno noisy, still as atmospheric as most minimal techno is, but with a bit of spice to it. It’s a really satisfying combination, and the noise is really really good as well, with these big pads that almost seem like they were taken from a messed up recording of an ambient piece.
Generally speaking, Belong’s return with Realistix IX is quite a success. They improve significantly on where they had left off and also make use of their noisy aesthetics, combining the two into a satisfying sonic collection. The rock numbers do, indeed, rock, while the atmospheric cuts don’t quite capture the feel of what was on October Language—truth be told, you’d be in the wrong thinking they’re trying to, as almost nothing on this album is trying to be atmospheric and solely atmospheric.
It is a both a fulfilling and a promising return, and if Belong were to expand even more on their pop songwriting, I’m sure that great things would be ahead for the duo, considering that Realistic IX is already a really solid and firm step into that direction.
Recommended for fans of My Bloody Valentine and Ulrich Schnauss.
Realistic IX is available on Kranky. [Bandcamp]
