Paul Snowdon's new E.P. for More Than Human doesn't exactly grab your attention from the start with Iridium Watcher, but this being the post-human space-age of electronic seduction you will succumb to the unearthly delights on offer, I promise.
The opener's apparently simple sound disguises a great deal of content just beneath the surface of the minimal riff, like a distant planet on which we think there may be life. A voice breaks through the light static and crackle, but we have no idea what it's saying. The composition evolves and revolves wonderfully.
Whilst Voider's Delight initially suggests the golden age of the Radiophonic Workshop, this is no bleep-by-numbers via the button marked 'Retro'. Snowdon introduces an organ halfway through which adds just the right amount of depth, albeit fleetingly, yet retains the beautifully simple Beeb sci-fi soundtrack feel. Lethargy Quest is darker territory, proving this artist's ability to conjure various moods successfully. Anchored by a single bass note, the rest of the sounds warble and ping into orbit, complete with the subtle use of musique concrète. As if to suggest a fondness for the old genre know as Hauntology, on the title track Snowdon deftly places the call of a crow as just one snippet. It works, but in this context I actually thought there was a crow about when playing it outside. Cloud Dowsing ups the tempo without overdoing it, thus presenting the perfect image of the Future past to these ears, as does the whole E.P.
A bonus treat comes in the form of Dolly Dolly's spoken word intro to The Hexapod Star Shuffle. 'Animal head and sun disc'? Very suggestive of cosmo-Egyptology and quite perfect. Only 300 to be released on vinyl, so get a move on.
More Than Human
Time Attendant
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