fthmlss - Cycles

A Closer Listen

Genres never go extinct, although they do go dormant; and so it is a pleasure to find a new trip-hop album in our in-box.  On Cycles, fthmlss resurrects the salient aspects of the genre, dusts them off and gives them a modern sheen.

First and foremost is that familiar downtempo beat, introduced on “Niagra” along with liquid sounds that highlight the album’s theme of the water cycle.  The combination of synth and sample hearkens back to a simpler time, or at least our impression of a such – the beating heart of nostalgia.  “Beneath” is jazzier, with mallet percussion and brass echoes.  Then the final piece, a languid female vocal.  As Christie sings on “Maelstrom,” her voice becomes the opposite of the title, the epitome of calm.

Conversely, “Overflow” does honor its title; the album’s fullest track is also its finest, with rolling drums, prominent xylophone and a sense of excess, especially when the final synth line enters toward the end.  From this point forth, the album is without lyrics, allowing the mind to wander and inviting the body to sway.  The average tempo is a bit faster than that of traditional trip-hop, but the feeling remains.  “Chill” by any other name would still sound as sweet.

From “Estuary” to “Marina,” the water is continuing its cycle.  “Effervescent” is especially smooth, a boat that rests on ripples, the final minute offering the hint of an open can.  Our only caveat is that the liner notes seem to imply that the music is not relaxing (“Niagra” is described as possessing “a killer head-nodding groove fit for a boxer”), when it is.  The natural combination of trip-hop, water and peace is what drew us to this project in the first place; it’s okay to own it, especially as this sort of music, ubiquitous for too brief a time, is so hard to find in such pristine form.  (Richard Allen)