No Arrival – Converse - Bricolage Records | The Electro Review

No Arrival
Converse
Bricolage Records
TBR: 15th January


After a series of highly enjoyable EP releases, Glasgow's No Arrival has produced a splendid full-length episode of his groundbreaking music. A masterpiece of fusion between guitars and electronica, the work symbolises a state of mind that makes its domain in the consciousness of these novel times. Exploratory and multi-dimensional, No Arrival creates new and fascinating areas of sonic geography.


It begins with a thundering of drums that bounce in rhythmic jostles. Synthesiser begins to swish and coil within the projection of sound as more vibrant and damp percussion pushes through. Melodic motifs jingle in reverberating narrow passages as mechanical like rhythms chug in abstract uniformity. In Soul is a busy place, yet taken at a saunter as to allow the moments to exist without rush.


The sound of distant people mixes with strange blips and chimes. Chased By Cows takes us to a crowd of excited people while a dreamy consciousness blankets the energy to a muffle. Evocative and journeying sounds sparkle through steady and intelligent pulses of drum. As the music evolves, a familiar stringed instrument begins to create an impressionist jig that circles and skips through the tallness of the surrounding tones.


It sounds like an engine is starting before chimes and plunging drums scatter tones and percussion in multiple directions. Metallic thumps with tubular sonics ring out as sticks strike stone and skin. Throaty motions of swallowed sound plummet in dripping corridors as spinning-top like mixing continually adjusts focus. Hammers strike padded steel and lustrous timbre folds into packaged caverns. Animal Sister digs deep and resolves subtle kinesis.


Next an open space pierces the moment as deep squeaks meet sunken bells. Zaps spray energetic forms into angular zeniths which disorientate and realign the centre. Slow Dawning creeps up with grace and abstraction. Swishing reeds and engineered self-expression form ghosts among shipwrecks and sleepy waters. Odd sounds permeate an epic spaciousness as fragmented rhythms strike tapestries into shifting peats.


A smooth and bountiful string is plucked on the bass with a walking style amble. Melodic frills grow from the two or three notes it begins with, harmony layers with every available dimension. Fractional beats pin-point unique vectors within the spacious sound of bass and smokey shapes. A sudden twist of hard material unleashes a sonic burst of broken potential, a repolarisation of effect takes place and allows the sensation of music to leap like freshly aired fire. Partial Face almost shows us the whole, and knowing glances suggest a secret hidden behind quality silks and thread. It then switches to a flowing dance, a coiling glide into emotions and dream. As the hypnotic array of beats float upon howling euphorics the track builds with abstraction and outside noises which gently push the illusion this way and that.


The Orange Antagonist zaps into our presence as humanist drums begin a slow heartbeat pulse. Creaking floorboards and disparate strings line crooked halls with perspective assistance. Footsteps and blood surge through endless labyrinthine gestures of ticking clocks and tension. It's a dreamy and voiding persistence through illusory mayhem held at arms reach with the power of just one finger.


Shakers and dappled notes spring forth on waves of uplifting intentions. A breezy sensation swishes through the static hairs, levitating with strange universal energy. A summery seaside scene forms in my mind while backdrops of thick forest span into uncountable hills beyond. A neat little fence is gated and seeing it has no lock, we are able to wander into the thicks. Pine Up Front could mean pine leaves and cones, or perhaps the scent of the wood as it permeates dense and narrow-gauge air corridors.


A damp and eerie movement of abstract organic flux motions within deep body maps as sullen bells start a muted tempo. Expressions in regular portions reveal method as squashing background sounds squeeze with tonal compression. Warm piano-bar notes occasionally add distance between us and the oddity as humming pulsations rise with evermore unformulated sound orchestration. Influx builds slowly, with nowhere to go but down, we step into underground chambers that glisten with luminous mycelia.


A sudden flurry of chattering rhythmics pound in with bouncy sponge and tempered energy. Sheering noises emerge from frantic distances as kinesis dances with knot-like uniformity. The twisting layers of intermixing sounds carve lines in an icy lake surface as nearby trees rain clumps of dusty snow. Feel See expresses a lively and ethereal moment of human enjoyment. It finishes with two people talking, expressing their love of life.


The Last Embrace rings in like a bleak October morning as epic mists sweep in from shuddering rocks in a distending milieu. Listening intently, tapping sounds and metallic clanks bring home a sense of labour and toil while hot synthesiser drifts in like the shine from open furnaces. Infra-red technology blanks a portion of vision as intense radiance crosses between individual parts of the bigger machine.


With a slim sounding bell, the final umber breathes into being. Twisting sounds and tapping percussion scatter the energy into various dimensions, like a polygonic star that spins on multiple axes. Blues guitar sways in on bendy beams as chords and melody bounce in wide and warm areas. Drums then open out like sticky windows and sudden air changes allows sunlight to break from its dulled shine.


You can get your copy of Converse by No Arrival on Bandcamp


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