Visible Cloaks - Reassemblage

Visible Cloaks
Reassemblage
2017
Spotify

Something about this new album from Visible Cloaks feels like the future. The ambient nature of it, the occasional foreign dialect it all comes together to create a soundscape that is as alien as it is comforting. It almost sounds like a lullaby, but one for children who we don't know. Much of the album is spent in exploration, finding out what happens if we do this or if we do this, and then building around that discovery. On "Bloodstream" an almost xylophone sounding instrument barely makes a sound every few measures, but the ding or dong leads way to another set of tones. There is miles and miles of space created by the record allowing the sparse sounds to live in a world all their own as the pop in and out of existence. The really fun part is what your mind does as you listen, building new structures and places that you may have never known or are actually the most familiar. That is one of the amazing powers of ambient music, to transport you almost fully just with sound. Visible CLoaks also manage to marry both organic and digital sounds expertly. At one moment you may be hearing a wind chime, yet it seamlessly transitions into a clearly electronic tone providing this really pleasing movement of air. On "Circle" the stringed instruments and pan flutes are used as almost tools for conversation almost like you are listening in on a crowded restaurants and all the conversations are blending together into an unintelligible, yet beautiful cacophony.

There is also a real sense of breath to this record. Even when the sounds get heavy on the electronic side Visible Cloaks still manage to discover their organic nature and bring those out slowly. Speaking of which the patience of this electronic duo is quite incredible; The will sit on a track or a line of music until it is just where they want it to be before they move on. That could take a second, or it could take a couple of minutes, but they will find it. "Mimesis" begins as an almost nothing track, but very slowly builds into one of the boldest most complex songs on the record. You would really expect an album like this to flow extremely well, yet the transitions are often clunky or in some cases non-existent. "Neume" however has this really great push and pull effect almost sucking you in to it's vortex before eventually spitting you out into some electronic elves laughing away. If DMT had a soundtrack this very well might be it. Visible Cloaks is an absolute delight from start to finish and really feels like a record that you have to hear. Do not sleep on this one.

8.9 out of 10