When Explosions In The Sky's Mark T. Smith and Eluvium's Matthew Cooper united as Inventions last year, the expectation was a sound that married Smith's iconic, emotional compositions with Cooper's introspective, occasionally noisy ambiance. For the most part, their debut album delivered on that promise. However, their quick follow-up, Maze of Woods, exploded those sounds and smeared them into a rich, abstract space where comfort and confusion coexist. The duo's individual identities dissolved into a fluid, ever-changing landscape of mechanical rhythms, vocal samples, and indeterminate instrumentation. It was uniquely haunting, and brilliantly executed. Blanket Waves continues in the direction charted on Maze of Woods, increasingly malleable, and even farther-reaching in its blurring of dream and reality. Composed of two 12-minute tracks, it encompasses the curiosity and craft that Smith and Cooper are renowned for, exemplified by their weaving of seemingly disparate pieces into a breathtaking pastiche that manages to evoke the same sense of wonder and blissful abandon that have made Explosions In The Sky and Eluvium so important to so many.
Amazing album from Eluvium - so many really beautiful, haunting compositions it's difficult to choose a favorite. Depends on my mood - today it is "Rorschach Pavan". I won't presume to know the artists intent, but for me the album is a perfect balance of the cerebral and the sublime! Thank you MRC for this amazing work! tullwr
these sounds of ceaseless renewal: as landscapes flitter by in grey blurs, as distant lights dance in your eyelids, a warm feeling deep in your chest radiating outward. i never want to leave the places these songs so effortlessly and delicately conjure. played them more times than i count, perhaps even more than the other LPs. i love this album so so so much. Matt Nichols
North Carolina group The Cocker Spaniels aim to write songs that “split the difference between Prince and Guided by Voices.” Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 11, 2021
Toronto's Motorists make jangly power pop with occasional discordant turns and raw enough production to keep the sound fresh and energetic. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 7, 2021