Customer Reviews

Motion to Rejoin

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I should state from the outset that I was hugely impressed by this band's previous album(Brightblack Morning Light)and loved its slinky sinuous rhythms and laid back grooves. If you are at all interested in this group get that album now. If you heard that album and didn't like it that much or, come to think of it, even if you did enjoy it, I can't really recommend this album with any conviction.

The problem is not just that the sound is essentially the same as their previous release but it lacks the variety of tone and rhythm, in particular, the percussion has been mixed into the background as to be lost in the murk and the first four songs are barely distinguishable from one another. It's not all bad and if I hadn't heard the first album I might be won over by the Pink Floyd-like sounds of tracks five and six or tolerated the similarities in some of the tracks more readily. Taken in isolation I could see myself giving this album four stars instead of three.

Unusually for me I ordered this at the first opportunity because I was really looking forward to hearing it, so it is a shame to have to report my disappointment. I do suggest checking out their Brightblack Morning Light album though.

"Motion to Rejoin" is the polar opposite of your typical record. It's long, it meanders incessantly, it's extremely experimental, and most importantly it has no intention of leaving a lasting impression.

"And we fell into it. Like a daydream. Or a fever."-GY!BE

Indeed. In many ways this album is much like the famous line from "The Dead Flag Blues". Becoming more than just music, it slowly transforms into a introspective journey spent within. Its presence is truly infectious - much like a daydream. Or a fever.

The band Brightblack Morning Light is composed of Nathan Shineywater and his partner, Rachel Hughes. Now by no means are they your ordinary couple; in fact they fit nicely within the cliché descriptor "hippy". Attempting to move away from the oppressive urbanized world, they eventually found themselves in New Mexico. Harnessing the solar energy of sun-drenched desert, they were then able to craft "Motion to Rejoin". Appropriately the album feels quite sun-washed in a certain sense as well. It's lethargic, the rhythms slowly swell, expanding and contracting at their own pace. Nothing feels forced in the slightest, in fact the album feels almost completely devoid of motivation. It is the heat stricken brow in which a single bead of sweat trickles down. It knows that as soon as the drop of sweat is wiped away, another will take its place. "Motion to Rejoin" is complacent with its time and pace.

Curiously the record starts off somewhat accessible. The classic jazz influences paired with funk and soul dimensions makes for an appealing first impression. This plays into the concept of the album name "Motion to Rejoin"; Brightblack Morning Light, as much as they have distanced themselves from the modern society, have some desire to return to our world. This would explain why the album flirts with catchy choruses on tracks such as "Hologram Buffalo" and "Oppressions Each". In the end though, this is mere flirtation and nothing more. The album's delivery is swirling and elaborate, too foreign to actually be considered pop. Shineywater's vocals are whisps floating through the air, effortlessly drifting through the haze of horns, keyboards, and bass. The album progresses so slowly that it almost falls into the ambient-drone genre, except that classification is hardly suiting. The style of music is so unique that the freak-folk genre, though close, only loosely fits.

The album certainly achieves a very atmospheric effect; its faded sonic palette engulfs any unsuspecting listener in its path. Perhaps the New Mexico sun has actually fused itself into the very heart of the music. Inevitably the sounds are slowly melted together, wavering into the mirage of distant salvation. We are tempted with the prospect of escaping the dire heat of our sonic environment, yet our consciousness no longer exists as a physical manifestation. We are trapped in the glacial constructs of an in-limbo state; provoked by the surprisingly subtle nature of "Motion to Rejoin". In many ways the album is much like a dream: magical and charming but all too quickly forgotten. It often retreads itself, like a feather gently gliding back and forth as it falls to the ground. And like a feather, it is light and unassuming, eventually swept away by the northern winds. Nothing more than barren dry brush tumbling aimlessly across the burning sands of time.

Brightblack Morning Light's ethereal efforts on "Motion to Rejoin" are what makes the album so enjoyable. The root of its appeal is the very same appeal of dreams: it has the immediate power to captivate but the indifference to remain anonymous. It is simple, unambitious and unassertive, instead empowering the listener to a higher mental state of self reflection. The empyreal sounds induce a heavenly trance, allowing for full immersion into our distant subconscious. As the the dream fades into oblivion, we awaken feeling refreshed and ready for the world; we are in "Motion to Rejoin" our waking lives. Brightblack Morning Light are able to replicate the same, surreal experience of our deepest slumbers and upon every listen, "Motion to Rejoin" remains as rejuvenating as the first. Its unpretentious nature fails to leave any lasting impression, however, this is the same factor that simultaneously keeps it so refreshing.

This record is deeper and heavier than the self-titled predecessor, but it is more repetitive as well. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It creates its own environment. If you enjoyed crawling into and curling up inside the previous record as much as I did, you'll like this. The mastering is a real let-down, it's way too quiet, huge compression on everything. Listen to this record at very high volume.

The description by Amazon is accurate. The sound of this album is consistent throughout. It is maximum chill music; relaxing, spacey, very smooth, hypnotic grooves with a hint of psychedelia floating through some tunes. The band's previous album is very similar. Get both on CD for the better sound quality over MP3. If this description and Amazon's sound at all appealing to you, you will love this album.

I too was a fan of the first record, but this one isn't working for me on the same level.......It's basically ambient music w/very little substance......No subtle dynamics this time (or maybe they're just way too subtle) and like the previous reviewer said, it's sounds pretty much all the same.....It really could be outtakes from the first album.......A exceptionally lazy effort especially for a second record......

What Brightblack Morning Light accomplish here is a nigh-miraculous landslide victory of duration over content.

It's easy to imagine that the musicians, having finished recording, went home, woke up, and said to themselves, "Holy sh_t, I think I might have been in the studio earlier." There is nothing here that indicates the intrusion of consciousness at any point during its conception or recording, nor will the listener -- to the degree s/he is imbued with any level of consciousness -- be able to maintain it while waiting for this CD to end.

Were the band's back-story not available, the listener might entertain a theory that some local music store had invited random non-musicians to come in off the street, sit down with the nearest instrument, and jam for a few hours while someone made a recording. The recording would then be transferred to this CD at half speed and sold as "Brightblack Morning Light."

The CD -- the audio equivalent of staring at one's shoe for an hour -- may well have its fans. On the other hand, if the listener is sufficiently anesthetized to enjoy this CD, s/he'd probably also be perfectly indifferent to all forms of bodily injury. They'd be great in a bar fight if only they could lift their arms.