Reflection of Time
Self-released (2014)
Minneapolis ambient
artist John Lyell purposely tries to take each successive album in a slightly
different direction (he cites Steve Roach as an influence in this regard, not
just his music but his always-morphing style as well). It didn't take long
during my first listen to Reflection of
Time to discern that either. Lyell's previous release, Eternity, was a soft-edged space exploration with an emphasis on waves
of flowing electronic melodies, sometimes punctuated by gentle pulsing rhythms.
Not dark by any stretch of the imagination, it was closer to the spacier side
of Jonn Serrie's early work. On his newest recording, Lyell morphs that formula
somewhat and invites the listener deeper into the inky-black backwaters of the
galaxy and sometimes out into the space between galaxies where nothingness
beckons with a sense of both awe and forlornness. Lyell's music is still not
what I would label as dark or "scary," but it's more moody and
evoking of the loneliness and isolation of deep space
travel (or what I might assume it to be).
One of the most
distinct differences musically is a shift to less of a melodic-based approach
and more of a textural one, as well as the use of retro electronic
"SF" effects, e.g. burbling synths, static noises, spacy sounds. Yes,
Lyell's deft touch with shimmering bell-like tones is still present but so are
many instances where the electronics, devoid of overt musicality, are also at
center stage. It's to Lyell's credit that he deftly manages to blend these
apparently disparate elements into a cohesive whole, somehow mixing them into
an alchemy that evokes both golden age science fiction films with their
synthesized sounds and early electronic music releases (from artists like the
late Michael Garrison or Patrick Gleason or even Larry Fast, perhaps) as well
as a contemporary sensibility with top notch production quality. Lyell's discs have
always sounded good and Reflection of
Time is no different, especially since it was mastered by Robert Rich, although
credit is also due the artist himself who handled production and engineering.
Another thing that I
give props to Lyell for is how he avoids the ambient/spacemusic pitfall of
extra-long tracks, i.e. individual songs of over 10 minute duration.
Apparently, he favors brevity over track duration, of which I am particularly
grateful. The album contains eight tracks, averaging about 7 minutes or so in
length.
On "The Deep
Unknown," we are off cruising into the blackness with a repeating pattern
of sonar-esque blips (like a repeating radio signal) set off against a series
of shadowy synth washes and whooshing effects that sometimes echo off into the
distance in a forlorn fashion. Things brighten a bit on "Above the
Stratos" with static-effect noises intermixed with retro-synth SF-themed
sounds, blipping and bleeping, and ethereal chorals. It's hard to
"describe" the overtly SF/computer-like synth effects, but you will
know them when you hear them. The ebbing and flowing static in the background
might grate on some folks' ears, but likely only if you are listening on
headphones. On "Dreaming In Sine Waves" we are settled in for a
dreamy smooth passage through deep space with twinkling bell tones and lots of
whooshing sounds and an occasional burbling series of synth effects. The
loneliness of isolation is conveyed in "A Far Away Place" with more
background static-like sounds (almost akin to waves continuously crashing on a
beach but distorted) and the barest hint of melodic content in the way of a occasional
synth wash or keyboard tone. "Space Ethereal" features reverbed bell
tones and gentle bass rhythms pinging into the emptiness, cradled by vibrato
chorals and occasional synthesized sighs of relief.
Three more tracks
flesh out the release: "Dreaming In Sine Waves 2," "the title
track, and Crossing the Barrier." All three take elements already
presented in previous songs and shuffles them in how they are used, so that no
one track sounds too much like another and yet all eight songs have definite
cohesion. "Crossing The Barrier" is the sparsest piece on the album;
it's more or less a layering of drones and tones gently easing the album to its
warm, amiable conclusion.
I admire how John
Lyell has not settled into a successful groove and has opted to allow his
spacemusic to evolve over these last three releases. From a purely personal
standpoint, I don't know that I "like" Reflection of Time as much as I did Eternity (his previous recording), but I recognize how much care
Lyell put into his new album and applaud him in that regard. Reflection of Time is perfect for
late-night imaginary stargazing or maybe star-tripping is a better phrase. This
is a great soundtrack for a dark-room imaginary excursion to Orion's Belt and
other distant destinations out among the comsos.
Reflection of Time is available from iTunes or CDBaby
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