Manual's Jonas Munk is one of those rare artists whose pursuit of a particular musical vision never seems to have wavered since his earliest days. The Dane has been purveying his brand of electronically reconfigured dream-pop for over a decade now - a missing link between Cocteau Twins and Ulrich Schnauss. On this new album, Munk develops his ideas, seemingly gravitating towards a more analogue sound that occasionally recalls the kosmische school of '70s and '80s German instrumental rock music, with tracks like 'Pulsations' being especially redolent of Tangerine Dream and the like. It's when Munk puts his guitar to prominent use that the album's most successful tracks arise however: 'Morning Glass 1982' moves straight towards cinematic Robin Guthrie territory, spinning heavily chorused guitar textures through a pattering drum machine-backed soundscape, and the epic 'Phainomenon' takes on a towering, symphonic scale, draped in '80s-style shoegazing effects and rippling analogue beats. Strong stuff as ever from this most consistent of artists.
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Manual's Jonas Munk is one of those rare artists whose pursuit of a particular musical vision never seems to have wavered since his earliest days. The Dane has been purveying his brand of electronically reconfigured dream-pop for over a decade now - a missing link between Cocteau Twins and Ulrich Schnauss. On this new album, Munk develops his ideas, seemingly gravitating towards a more analogue sound that occasionally recalls the kosmische school of '70s and '80s German instrumental rock music, with tracks like 'Pulsations' being especially redolent of Tangerine Dream and the like. It's when Munk puts his guitar to prominent use that the album's most successful tracks arise however: 'Morning Glass 1982' moves straight towards cinematic Robin Guthrie territory, spinning heavily chorused guitar textures through a pattering drum machine-backed soundscape, and the epic 'Phainomenon' takes on a towering, symphonic scale, draped in '80s-style shoegazing effects and rippling analogue beats. Strong stuff as ever from this most consistent of artists.
Manual's Jonas Munk is one of those rare artists whose pursuit of a particular musical vision never seems to have wavered since his earliest days. The Dane has been purveying his brand of electronically reconfigured dream-pop for over a decade now - a missing link between Cocteau Twins and Ulrich Schnauss. On this new album, Munk develops his ideas, seemingly gravitating towards a more analogue sound that occasionally recalls the kosmische school of '70s and '80s German instrumental rock music, with tracks like 'Pulsations' being especially redolent of Tangerine Dream and the like. It's when Munk puts his guitar to prominent use that the album's most successful tracks arise however: 'Morning Glass 1982' moves straight towards cinematic Robin Guthrie territory, spinning heavily chorused guitar textures through a pattering drum machine-backed soundscape, and the epic 'Phainomenon' takes on a towering, symphonic scale, draped in '80s-style shoegazing effects and rippling analogue beats. Strong stuff as ever from this most consistent of artists.