When we left Loscil—aka Scott Morgan—last, he had released his debut 'Triple Point' to much acclaim, and was preparing to tour behind the release. That was scant a year ago, and now Loscil is back, having toured the earth and recorded a mother of a concept album. 'Submers' is very much a continuation of the same ideals Morgan has upheld before—singular artistic vision, music created on keyboards and computers—but he plumbs new territories this time around.
Each track is named after a submarine, and the songs all have an eerie spaciness that makes them feel very detached in nature. Very appropriate for songs about huge metal vessels that travel miles below the ocean's surface, for defense use or not. The sound is very much the same, though this time I got the feeling of a more cohesive release than the last CD. Songs blend into each other well with dense keyboards and simple click beats over top. Then they build, adding intensity and textures/flavors until they achieve fervent but understated pace, then fade out gracefully. Morgan has a real ear for production, and these tracks are crystal clear, with a violent tension that sits just underneath it all, waiting to pounce, but revelling in the torture of not attacking instead. There are tracks that sound like sonar bouncing off the hull of a ship, or the slow pulse of the "caterpillar drive" from "Hunt For Red October". The whole time I listened, I felt very much alone, and the thought of that almost drove me insane. The album closes with an almost funereal requiem called "Kursk," after the Russian submarine we all saw on CNN with tales of its fallen crew. It's a tribute and a dirge, a respectful sending up of these men who subject themselves to unreal situations and fears—the ultimate bravery. Loscil gains major points for dreaming up a concept this brave, embracing it, and succeeding in creating a moving and stirring listening experience.
Samples can be found here.
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