It somehow seems apt that the only voice to be heard on this album is that of astronomer Carl Segan on closing track ‘Go to the Stars’.
That, and the eleven pieces that precede it, have a meditative, calming feel, as if the listener is looking at the night sky absorbing the universe.
It’s all chilled-out stuff, unlike Alex Smee’s former act New Jacuzzi, their jazzy flights of fancy often instrumental, but considerably noisier.
Solo however, Smee is in contemplative mood – ‘Lost in Cities and Fields’ a haunting piano and synth piece, while the resonating treated guitar on ‘A Break in the Clouds’ chimes gently, lulling us to sleep.
Touchstones include an understated, vocal-less Sigur Ros, that area where Mogwai’s post-rock meets classical, and the delicate, effect-infused guitar work of Bill Nelson guitar or the Durutti Column, ‘On This Street At Night’ is another standout, albeit a glacially-paced one.
This article originally appeared in the Sunderland Echo.
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
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