Sølyst:
Lead:
Bureau B:
Out 15th April:
8/10
Consistency is the key when it comes to German
label Bureau B’s output and 2013 has already seen a veritable slew of top-notch
releases from Karl Bartos, Lloyd Cole/Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Qluster – now
we have Kreidler’s drummer Thomas Klein proffering his second album under the
moniker Sølyst and guess what? It’s another engaging effort from the modern
progressive equivalent of Mute Records.
Musically, Klein’s Sølyst project resembles The
Orb, Sun Electric, Kreidler (not surprisingly) and Boards of Canada, if not for
the melodies then for the execution – we’re talking spacey tripped out
techno-prog here, better suited to headphones than bangin’ Berlin clubs.
The
best examples are the languid Pearl and the opening percussive Pierbourg, both
of which gradually build up with subtle shifts in timbre and the merest hint of
tension, while the title-track seeks influences from the African and
Middle-Eastern corners of the globe with its Burundi-cum-Arabic drum-work.
I mentioned Boards of Canada earlier as a comparable
and its final track Schnee that backs up this claim, bearing some similarity to
their Happy Cycling track. Overall, very little of Lead moves out of second
gear, save for the urgent buzziness of Euphorica, none of which should bother
Thomas Klein – he’s pieced together a rather warm and friendly soundscape as it
is.