-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: Vinyl Williams
Album...: Lemniscate
GENRE....: Indie
STYLE....: Experimental, Pop, Electronic, Shoegaze, Psychedelic Rock
LABEL....: No Pain In Pop SCENE.....: 2016-01-03
BITRATE..: 256 kbps avg STORE.....: 2012-00-00
ENCODER..: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 TRACKS....: 9
SIZE.....: 69.00MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_Williams
- TRACKLIST
1 Tokyo -> Sumatra 2:30
2 Higher Worlds 4:10
3 Stellarscope 3:58
4 Who Are You? 3:02
5 Grassy 4:23
6 Object Of The Source 2:48
7 Inner Space 4:29
8 Open Your Mind 5:09
9 Follow In Your Dreams 7:04
Total Playtime: 37:33
Grandson of celebrated composer John Williams, Los Angeles-based artist and
multi-instrumentalist Lionel Williams (aka Vinyl Williams) certainly had the
genealogy in place to become a sonic designer. But with his debut record
Lemniscate, the 22-year-old gets way more otherworldly than the elder
Williams did when he scored Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Written and performed entirely by Williams, Lemniscate sounds like an
extension of the collage art he's gotten worldwide attention for. Blending
ambient shoegaze, space pop, and fierce psychedelia, Williams brings tones of
chaos and desperation into a beautifully presented and mystically charged
work.
Though Williams delivers something all his own, a lo-fi version of Radiohead
comes to mind as an influence for the guitar work in songs such as "Follow in
Your Dreams" and "Object of the Source." "Inner Space" and ôOpen Your Mind,"
on the other hand, evoke thoughts of the atmospheric 6-string style of Archer
Prewitt. Paired up with Williams' haunting vocals and the lush layers of
beats, bass, and synths, Lemniscate is a nicely executed collection of
spells.
*
Click onto Vinyl Williams' website and you'll immediately be presented with
examples of the young Los Angeles-based artistÆs acclaimed collages. Digital
shards and classical elements combined, riots of colour and surrealism, they
make for an ideal entry-point to his world.
As far as Vinyl (or Lionel, to use his birth name) is concerned, his penchant
for creativity is not something easily understood, least of all by himself.
Nearly a year ago, on the This Is Fake DIY website, he pondered the lack of
distinction between his art and his music as follows: "I let it flow out, I
improvise, then toy at the improvisation until it emanates some kind of
bliss."
The grandson of famed cinematic composer John Williams, he is not averse to
setting lofty goals for himself. And this debut album certainly goes a long
way towards capturing the "other worlds" he strives to generate, pulsing,
surging and meandering along its own path as it pleases.
Single Higher Worlds best exemplifies its woozy sonic approach, as well as
boasting a bright and intuitive grasp of melody that crops up intermittently
over the remaining. Pattered floor-toms and an addictive funk bassline
gradually embellished by WilliamsÆ almost offhand vocals, shuddering electric
guitar and spectral hints of synth, the song soon breaks into a sweet,
cloud-parting chorus.
It is a lovely, gentle sound that the record offers, even as it teeters
towards the discordant; analogue and digital elements coalesce and morph over
its nine songs and have clearly been assembled with care and precision, but
they feel wonderfully loose and unrestrictive. ôSonic matricesö is how
Williams refers to them, and his stated evocation of transcendence - of bliss
- is their aim.
Yet Lemniscate doesnÆt actively vie for your attention. It is breezy to the
point of being languorous; unhurried enough as to come off sedate. Like any
painting, sculpture, installation or collage, it requires contemplation, a
second glance.
Surrender yourself to its charms, though û ideally in a pair of high-end
headphones with a glass of your preferred tipple to hand û and it will soothe
and transfix, ebbing and surging its way into your consciousness with style
and grace to spare.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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