Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Belong - Colorloss Record EP

Belong
Colorloss Record EP
(02.2008, St. Ives)
Verdict = Gorgeous Gauzy Pop

Belong’s 2006 debut October Language is an essential in the field of ambient drone. It was emotive as well as orchestral in its movements. It was distinctly and beautifully textured, and it was memorable. In a single, powerful swipe the duo practically erased any distance between themselves as newcomers and much more historied and adorned acts from which they descended like Fennesz, Tim Hecker and Eluvium. However, above all else, Belong’s October Language was incredible because while being able to fit into tags like experimental, ambient, classical and drone, the album was also emphatically pop. Now, in their first proper release since their debut, Belong has provided more insight into just why their magical static tapestries bridged the gap from Fennesz to My Bloody Valentine. With the extremely limited release of the Colorloss Record EP (300 copies on vinyl; fortunately there are opening up the release for download on iTunes and eMusic as well), Belong have taken to covering four 60’s era psych pop gems ("Late Night" by Syd Barrett, "Beeside" by Tintern Abbey, "Girl From New York" by Billy Nicholls and "My Clown" by July). In a stroke of genius, the duo has wrapped their thick wave of gauzy perfection around these tracks and transformed them into something that is distinctly Belong’s. With fluttering vocals lilting beneath the muscular current of melodic friction, Belong’s Colorloss Record is a striking advancement for the duo and a perfect addition to any music library. Let's hope the band can keep up its momentum with its full length scheduled for release later this year.

-Mr. Thistle

Belong - "My Clown"

1 comment:

Justin Snow said...

October Language is one of my favorite records of all time. Their new EP is just as good as you describe and I share your hope about their next full length.