It’s not that nothing stands out—it’s that everything stands out. If this was an exam I’d have the hardest time revising and retaining all the details.
Challenging and captivating
It will be clear to anyone who reads my rantings that I just can’t leave my fading youth behind and the electronic scene of the mid 00s was a big part of that. The departure from established dance forms towards mind-bending noise and soundscapes has influenced me in ways I can’t begin to fathom and Roel Funcken was a big part of that. When he pairs with Cor Bolten (and sometimes Don Funcken), what we get is Legiac, and when that happens we get some serious business. Vespertine is a chaotic ride into the skills that only someone as prolific as they could really pull off—thirteen tracks of bass, frenzied structures and impacting ambience / illbience—each seemingly more engaging than the last, pulling from obvious experience and a lifetime of familiarity with their equipment and chosen worlds.
Chemical names abound, the complexity of many pieces echoes that of chemistry in real life—the interactions, effects, and my perception of things all at play, all of the time.
The tracks seem to alternate between haywire experiences and really daunting and sinister pieces with this pairing working well in many places, a first example right off the bat with the opening two numbers. “Atropine” syncopates oddly, with a time signature you just can’t lock down easily (unless you want to do yourself a mental injury), a true example of how to morph, merge and meld within a song and although its sibling “Photofobia” dials it back somewhat, the condition it references is the least of my worries as I’m left with a phobia of basically everything else in the world. It’s a heavy piece and I worry for my sanity as I’m only nine minutes in.
There’s no filler ::
This coupling appears again frequently but none stand out as much as the following pair. For me, “Bromide” really throws things back to the Cane era (oh, how I miss you), a tumultuous ride through a twisted tunnel that never lets up. Normally one would expect light at the end of such structures so if “Aconitum Ferox” is that, it’s not on a spectrum that comforts me—continually breaking down, almost stressing me out; but therein lies the beauty. It’s challenging and captivating like so many places on the release.
Favorites for me are the namesake “Vespertine”—it’s just so crisp and in your face, “Ipatropium” displaying moments of triumph and perfect rhythmic counterpoint, and “Thornapple,” which is easily the most laid back and relaxing piece here, and that’s something you might just need in order to calm you down.
There’s no filler. You’ll realize you’re only halfway through and you not only have so far to go, but so much to try and remember. It’s not that nothing stands out—it’s that everything stands out. If this was an exam I’d have the hardest time revising and retaining all the details. I’m forced to go back again and again and that’s no bad thing—but as you re-enter the real world at the end of this experience I won’t be surprised if you’re questioning things as much as I.
Get this, put it on and start questioning things.
Art is a painting by Roel Funcken called Drambuie
Design / Layout by Maick Hendrick
Mastered by exm
Vespertine is available on Riddim. [Bandcamp]
