Vastly different from Lara Rix-Martin's previous Meemo Comma albums, 'Decimation of I' is a moody, mostly beatless sci-fi soundtrack that's based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 1972 novel 'Roadside Picnic' - the book that Andrei Tarkovsky later adapted into 'Stalker'.
There's a feeling of strangulated calm to 'They, Spoke', a short, folky synth-flute jam, that aptly sets the tone for Rix-Martin's fifth full-length. It establishes a chilly, artificial mood that reminds us of '70s British TV - the roots of Boards of Canada, if you like. And it's the ideal way to signal the Strugatsky brothers' themes without resorting to the expected dystopian grimdark tropes. 'Decimation of I' is a gloomy record in many ways, but it's not punishingly bleak, despite being inspired by Rix-Martin's disgust at watching the world collapse. These themes are gestured at but not aesthetically represented; the tension comes from stretches of silence, juxtaposition and eerie, unfamiliar movement.
On 'Signs', Rix-Martin contrasts fairytale woodwind sounds with subtly glassy electronic patters, while 'From The Sky' smears ratcheting woodblock cracks over watery, bio-mechanical pads. And although the album loses some of its steam when the brassy 'Spectral Alignment' dissipates into 'Meditation, that hoovers up some more identifiable contemporary sci-fi tropes, Rix-Martin's underlying message of "humanity's gradual dissolution" never falters.
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Vastly different from Lara Rix-Martin's previous Meemo Comma albums, 'Decimation of I' is a moody, mostly beatless sci-fi soundtrack that's based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 1972 novel 'Roadside Picnic' - the book that Andrei Tarkovsky later adapted into 'Stalker'.
There's a feeling of strangulated calm to 'They, Spoke', a short, folky synth-flute jam, that aptly sets the tone for Rix-Martin's fifth full-length. It establishes a chilly, artificial mood that reminds us of '70s British TV - the roots of Boards of Canada, if you like. And it's the ideal way to signal the Strugatsky brothers' themes without resorting to the expected dystopian grimdark tropes. 'Decimation of I' is a gloomy record in many ways, but it's not punishingly bleak, despite being inspired by Rix-Martin's disgust at watching the world collapse. These themes are gestured at but not aesthetically represented; the tension comes from stretches of silence, juxtaposition and eerie, unfamiliar movement.
On 'Signs', Rix-Martin contrasts fairytale woodwind sounds with subtly glassy electronic patters, while 'From The Sky' smears ratcheting woodblock cracks over watery, bio-mechanical pads. And although the album loses some of its steam when the brassy 'Spectral Alignment' dissipates into 'Meditation, that hoovers up some more identifiable contemporary sci-fi tropes, Rix-Martin's underlying message of "humanity's gradual dissolution" never falters.
Vastly different from Lara Rix-Martin's previous Meemo Comma albums, 'Decimation of I' is a moody, mostly beatless sci-fi soundtrack that's based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 1972 novel 'Roadside Picnic' - the book that Andrei Tarkovsky later adapted into 'Stalker'.
There's a feeling of strangulated calm to 'They, Spoke', a short, folky synth-flute jam, that aptly sets the tone for Rix-Martin's fifth full-length. It establishes a chilly, artificial mood that reminds us of '70s British TV - the roots of Boards of Canada, if you like. And it's the ideal way to signal the Strugatsky brothers' themes without resorting to the expected dystopian grimdark tropes. 'Decimation of I' is a gloomy record in many ways, but it's not punishingly bleak, despite being inspired by Rix-Martin's disgust at watching the world collapse. These themes are gestured at but not aesthetically represented; the tension comes from stretches of silence, juxtaposition and eerie, unfamiliar movement.
On 'Signs', Rix-Martin contrasts fairytale woodwind sounds with subtly glassy electronic patters, while 'From The Sky' smears ratcheting woodblock cracks over watery, bio-mechanical pads. And although the album loses some of its steam when the brassy 'Spectral Alignment' dissipates into 'Meditation, that hoovers up some more identifiable contemporary sci-fi tropes, Rix-Martin's underlying message of "humanity's gradual dissolution" never falters.
Vastly different from Lara Rix-Martin's previous Meemo Comma albums, 'Decimation of I' is a moody, mostly beatless sci-fi soundtrack that's based on Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's 1972 novel 'Roadside Picnic' - the book that Andrei Tarkovsky later adapted into 'Stalker'.
There's a feeling of strangulated calm to 'They, Spoke', a short, folky synth-flute jam, that aptly sets the tone for Rix-Martin's fifth full-length. It establishes a chilly, artificial mood that reminds us of '70s British TV - the roots of Boards of Canada, if you like. And it's the ideal way to signal the Strugatsky brothers' themes without resorting to the expected dystopian grimdark tropes. 'Decimation of I' is a gloomy record in many ways, but it's not punishingly bleak, despite being inspired by Rix-Martin's disgust at watching the world collapse. These themes are gestured at but not aesthetically represented; the tension comes from stretches of silence, juxtaposition and eerie, unfamiliar movement.
On 'Signs', Rix-Martin contrasts fairytale woodwind sounds with subtly glassy electronic patters, while 'From The Sky' smears ratcheting woodblock cracks over watery, bio-mechanical pads. And although the album loses some of its steam when the brassy 'Spectral Alignment' dissipates into 'Meditation, that hoovers up some more identifiable contemporary sci-fi tropes, Rix-Martin's underlying message of "humanity's gradual dissolution" never falters.