Landing - Brocade
SKU
SAAH037
Their seventh full length album in seven years, Brocade is a turning point for Landing, one that simultaneously harkens back to their roots as hushed drone rockers while journeying onwards into starkly minimalist, utterly cosmic terrain. Reverting inward after some of their sunny travels into headspace, Brocade touches on early Krautrock rhythms while delving into traditional psychedelic ambient music. Barring a few instrumental overdubs, Brocade was performed live in the studio, resulting in an airy sort of freedom not felt since the gauzy bliss-out improvisation captured on Fade In/Fade Out or moments from their second album Oceanless. In every manifestation, it is a tour-de-force of minimalism, utilizing repeating patters that slowly and steadily develop shape as they float in and out of a barbiturate fog. In the early moments of the album, as fireballs of feedback and effects unfurl into the exquisitely Faust-like drum and bass repetitions of opener Loft", it would seem that rock and roll would prevail even as the tune winds through increasingly lush terrain, swelling in size as more instrumental streams enter the flow. Placid waters emerge, however, as the drums drop out and Brocade turns into a study in atmospherics with the swelling pulse-and-drone of "Yon" and the shimmering, wispy ripples of "Spiral Arms". After the hazy overdrive of "How to Be Clear", Landing immerse themselves in sparse ambience as conjured by Eno's On Land or Harold Budd's glistening works, floating away with the aptly-named closer "Music For Three Synthesizer". [Strange-Attractor]