Hot on the heels of Desormais' excellent second album, Iambrokenandremake,Intr_version has released a new label sampler, making clear the label'splace as one of the premiere purveyors of pop-infused, melancholicelectronica. While there's nothing stylistically spectacular here, alltracks are exclusive, and, as is rarely the case with all-exclusivecomps, nearly all tracks are excellent. In addition to its constancy ofquality, Saturday Morning Empires also possesses a consistencyof style; nothing feels out of place. All tracks nourish a similar vibein which richly melodic instrumentation provides foundation fordelicate electronic rhythms and rivulets of warbling static. A fragilebeauty makes even the more sparse or repetitive songs instantlyappealing. The heart of the disc, a pristine four-song section of newmusic from Polmo Polpo, AMute, Loscil, and Desormais' Joshua Treble,includes the most desolate and unchanging music here, though it iseasily the best. Joshua Treble's piece is simply stunning, composed ofreverb-drenched guitar loops, beautifully layered into a holdingpattern and spaced with glitch-laden, finger-snap percussion. Witnessthe new Vini Reilly. AMute's "Aux creux des vagues mon visage" featuresa ghostly looped guitar as well, though it rides the kind of tweeelectro beat and echoed wind-chime tones that groups like Piano Magicdo so well. In fact, Saturday Morning Empires' slant is similarto that of many Rocket Girl acts: a dusty, bucolic mood suffused withenough subtle electronics to keep things magical. This compilationdiffers somewhat in that certain tracks transcend their autumnal rootsand really soar. Obvious examples are the contributions of Polmo Polpoand Tim Hecker. The former's "Dreaming (Is Real)" evolves in his uniquestyle, tested on this year's excellent Like Hearts Swelling inwhich a Neu!-influenced driving beat accelerates through panes ofdistortion as gorgeous slide guitars push everything into free-fallingheaven. Hecker is also working in his tested signature style here,creating yet another fissured landscape of static and straining drones,while sounding as fresh and at home as ever. Even seasoned listenersshould find surprises and new discoveries in Saturday Morning Empires, as much a sampler for a great label as it is a great album. samples:
- Joshua Treble - Leave Me On the Snares
- Amute - Aux Creux des Vague Mon Visage
- Palomino Falls - Bruise Coloured Blue
Read More
