ALBUM REVIEW: GAS - NARKOPOP

GAS
NARKOPOP
Ambient, Minimal Techno, Electronic.
Kompakt.
Listening Format: CD














Gas is the performing name of Wolfgang Voigt, producing his signature style of Ambient music. He is also the founder of Kompakt, one of the most well respected Electronic music labels and often considered a showcase of the "Berlin Minimal Techno" style. 'Narkopop' is the first release of brand new Gas studio material in 17 years now, and this comeback wasn't even really an anticipated thing, as it pretty much appeared relatively out of the blue earlier this year. The last Gas album 'Pop' came out in 2000 and the project went silent ever since. This isn't to say that Voigt himself has been silent, as he has continued to create music in different styles, including frequent releases under his own name and other pseudonyms. However Gas still remains his most popular and critically acclaimed body of work.

For those not familiar with Gas, his music very much takes many of the blueprints of Ambient music as pioneered by Brian Eno, but he puts his own signature spin on it. He often manipulates samples from orchestral works, particularly favouring dissonant and long drawn out chords, that he combines with synthesizers. The result is usually a slow moving, eerie and pulsating hum reminiscent of artists such as Angelo Badalamenti, the frequent David Lynch collaborator nicknamed the "master of the suspended chord". Gas often showcases a mixture of purely beatless Ambient washes, and tracks that feature a very minimal four-to-the-floor kickdrum often found in Minimal Techno. However this kickdrum is usually always drowned in reverb and pushed so far to the back of the mix that it sometimes passes through the awareness of the listener completely, like a ghost haunting the composition.

After 17 years away, Gas brings back those signatures in full force. The title 'Narkopop' suggests to me that this album has a direct connection to his previous album 'Pop'. Whilst 'Pop' could be considered a relatively sunnier and more uplifting album in the Gas discography, 'Narkopop' is very much the darker sister album. The album sleeves seem to correlate this, with 'Pop' having a bright, sunlit image of a tree branch, and 'Narkopop' in contrast looking like a walk through an eerie forest at night.

Essentially nothing has changed in Voigt's approach to making Gas music. We have another ten untitled pieces of music represented by numbers, using those trademark drawn out synths and sparse kickdrums. The pieces float between four and seventeen minutes, but the way they are sequenced makes it hard to pinpoint the exact moment where one track finishes and the next begins. It is very much an album experience that should be heard from start to finish. 'Narkopop' has a timeless feel to it because you can't really distinguish if this was recorded in 2017, 1997 or anywhere in between. This isn't to say that 'Narkopop' sounds exactly like his previous releases though, but it is very similar in concept, approach and performance.

What I love the most about 'Narkopop' is how genuinely dark, moody and melodramatic it sounds. The synths or samples are really dominant throughout this album. Whilst there are plenty of droning, drawn out sections that leave the listener feeling hypnotised, when the string and synth sounds do start to express themselves it sounds so doomy, almost angry even. Although Gas is German, I can't help but think of dark Scandinavian mystery dramas like The Killing, or perhaps the works of Lars Von Trier or Thomas Vinterberg when I hear this album. It has that stark, moonlit, winterry feel that I just adore. Everything sounds melancholic, isolated, and at times really chilling. Whilst it doesn't quite verge into Horror or Industrial territory, you could argue that this record verges on Dark Ambient at times. For an Ambient recording, I feel like 'Narkopop' expertly walks that difficult line where it keeps the details of composition and production relatively simple and sparse, yet manages to be completely enthralling and interesting the whole way through.

I feel like the only possible way a Gas fan could possibly be disappointed in this "comeback" record is in the fact that it doesn't do anything new. Even after 17 years, Gas sounds EXACTLY like Gas should. He hasn't changed his winning formula one bit. But that is a good thing too. Maybe fans would have still been disappointed had he gone out and changed things up too drastically. I think it is just a great treat for Gas fans to finally hear another record, that is really good and fits very comfortably among his already well established discography. In a time where Ambient music is still very much cutting edge, and where soundtracks new and old are being highly praised in the vinyl market, the return of Gas just feels very well fitting. 8/10.

ALBUM REVIEW: CLARK - DEATH PEAK

CLARK
DEATH PEAK
Electronic, Ambient Techno.
Warp Records.
Listening Format: Vinyl (mostly) also CD and Digital.














When you think about Warp Records you instantly picture Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada and Squarepusher... Boundary pushing Electronic musicians who not only defined Warp, but the entire genre in the 1990s. But once Warp moved into the 00s, some excellent new blood took the forward thinking label to the next level, including Bibio, Battles, Flying Lotus and of course, Christopher Stephen Clark.

Since the start of this century, Clark has been very prolific, releasing an album every two years at least, with many EPs and singles in between. Clark is blessed by not only being a distinctive and innovative composer and producer, but each of his albums are rather different in approach and concept, yet still have that unifying Clark feel and sound.

[SOLILOQUY!] Before I go any further I have a slight gripe that I have with Warp Records. I have been listening to 'Death Peak' on vinyl. Clark's previous record 'The Last Panthers' was about 46 minutes long and perfectly fit onto a single vinyl disc. 'Death Peak' runs at only 43 minutes long, yet has been stretched out over 4 sides of wax! Not only is this so unnecessary, breaking the flow of the album, but they didn't even have the courtesy to make it run at 45RPM for superior sound quality!!! Come on Warp... Why you gotta play me like that??!! [END SOLILOQUY]

Clark's ninth full length 'Death Peak' once again feels like it has a unifying concept running through it. The sounds and ideas try to tell a story without using words or lyrics. It certainly sounds nothing like his underrated previous album, 'The Last Panthers', which delved into Ambient music and live instrumentation, being a score for the BBC TV series of the same name (CHECK IT OUT!) 'Death Peak' is very much drawing back to a synthetic sound, with squelching synthesizers and wonky beats. Though Clark does implement (mostly) female vocals, adding an ethereal, indecipherable sound to many of these tracks. 'Catastrophe Anthem' even adds what sounds like a children's choir between the choppy synth leads. These use of vocals feel like a new tool that Clark is playing with and for the most part they are used in interesting ways and don't detract from the listening experience.

The main problem with 'Death Peak' is that whilst it is full of plenty of varying ideas, it suffers from a lack of interesting cohesion, structural development and most importantly, memorable melodies and hooks. The record really kicks into gear with, 'Butterfly Prowler', lead by this swirling, detuned synth loop that sounds like the listener is being spun around on a waltzer ride. Conceptually very interesting, but on repeat listens the lack of a decent melody in this track actually makes it become more annoying each time I spin this record (which has been about 15 times now on various formats). The two winning tracks for me come directly after. 'Peak Magnetic' is a rollercoaster of peaks and troughs, where the synths and hard beats actually compliment one another, riding in tandem. 'Hoova' is a straight up techno banger which builds into hard arpeggiated synths where the beats wrap around it.

Unfortunately the second half of the record enters less riveting territories. It feels like Clark is really trying to do something innovative, but if also feels like he is throwing paint at the canvas just to see what sticks. Even after many, many listens, very little other than 'Catastrophe Anthem' seems to be remotely memorable to me on this second half of the record (and I don't particularly dig this track). It just feels like an awkward mess with no clear direction. The album concludes on a ten minute long "side length" 'Un U.K.' which is literally ten minutes of nothingness... It feels like scraps of leftover ideas just stuck together with no rhyme or reason, eventually drifting off into a vague hum.

I've honestly enjoyed every single Clark album til now. Even his "Folktronica" effort 'Iradelphic' is an album of his I frequently come back to, despite critics and fans generally considering it his worst effort. Unfortunately for me, 'Death Peak' is the first major disappointment in Clark's wonderful discography. Even though some of his best signatures and trademarks are present, it feels like Clark is actually trying too hard this time around, desperately trying to grab the listener or say something bold, but actually saying very little at all. Ultimately 'Death Peak' is an album that screams in the face of the listener, but what it is trying to scream at me is totally garbled and indecipherable... 6/10.