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█░ █
█ █ P U B L I C . S O U N D
█ █
█ █ presenting our latest release
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r e l e a s e . i n f o
Artist.....: Helios
Title......: Caesura
Rip Date...: nov-07-2008 Cat.No.....: type042
Style......: Psychedelic Label......: Type
Quality....: VBRkbps Type.......: Album
Size.......: 67,2 MB Source.....: CDDA
r e l e a s e . n o t e s
Kenniff has seen critics toss names like Boards of Canada and
Brian Eno his way and, to some extent, I can understand those
comparisons: his music lilts more than it drives, ascends more
than it accelerates, and tends towards the pleasures of simplicity
and ambient somnolence. What Eno and the Boards of Canada have
that Kenniff doesn't is an exciting and singular appreciation for
the unusual and unexpected. Helios' fifth record is a pretty, but
predictable exercise in electronic composition. Kenniff provides
layers and layers of synthetic harmony and dreamy melodies, which
wash over softly plodding drum machines that sound as though
they've been suffocated under a mountain of pillows. He repeats
this process almost without fail for the better part of an hour
and succeeds in creating a truly ambient (meaning wallpaper-esque)
record from dynamic and decidedly un-ambient parts. Caesura is
enjoyable, but it is also without enough dynamism to keep it
interesting.
Songs like "Glimpse" and "Fourteen Drawings" are filled with
expertly picked guitars and honeyed chimes that coalesce in such a
fashion that they seem practically made for each other; they're
wedded in the production so tightly that I can't imagine them
begin separated or interrupted by any other sounds. This effect is
lovely, but as the album progresses and it is revealed that nearly
each and every song is produced in this manner, it becomes a
little nauseating. Pretty melody after pretty melody drifts by in
a train of genteel austerity. This is very safe music made by a
very careful and particular mind, so particular that anything out
of place or even remotely dangerous is exorcised from the mix and
cast off into oblivion. On one song it is possible to hear synth-
pad X and then on the next, synth-pad Y mixed with drum palette B.
Kenniff is deft with his use of acoustic sources, mixing them
perfectly with a host of electronic instruments. The problem
consists in his mixing those acoustic elements into the music too
well; he manages to render them into little more than additional
designs in a rather plain, but decorative rug.
Kenniff shines brilliantly when he steps out of himself and dares
to escape the painfully anodyne components of his music. After
eight tracks of decent, but completely homogenous tunes, "Shoulder
to Hand" arrives carrying some achingly beautiful guitars and a
just a hint of yearning. He incorporates a low, almost buzzing
bass into the mix and, for the first time on the record,
fabricates a looming darkness from his instrumentation. The song
doesn't exactly brood, but it does break up the monotony of his
sentimental style. It's aggravating that these songs, on a
technical level, are quite good. Kenniff knows how to write, but
he lacks the ability to write anything but the same kinds of
songs. In small chunks Caesura is an inoffensive and relaxing
record, but that is precisely its weakness. A little more honesty
and spice would benefit the record a great deal: such additions
would provide a depth and character that it desperately needs.
p l a y l i s t
01 hope valley hill 05:18
02 come with nothings 05:03
03 glimpse 05:51
04 fourteen drawings 04:33
05 backlight 04:50
06 the red truth 04:39
07 a mountain of ice 04:25
08 mima 04:41
09 shoulder to hand 05:17
10 hollie 04:39
49:16 min
g r e e t i n g s
agw - amok - bass - bcc - bex - boss - cmg - cmc - cms - d2h
def - dh - disc0 - drum - emp - ftd - fwyh - gem - i8 - ipc
jce - jfk - jrp - just - khz - kinky - kw - lame - maem - mbs
mgc - psycz - r2r - rac - radial - rapid - rks - rtb - sb
sever - sfe - soup - sour - sq - tr - trt - ube - uc - upe
uki - xtc - yard - zi
respect to music lovers worldwide
never forget : go to the show. buy the t-shirt. order the vinyl