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Flying Saucer Attack has long been in the psychedelic hive mind or collective unconscious of all fans who follow this type of music. And yet, until the past year, I’ve hovered at the periphery of this Bristol UK based space rock group’s music. Then, someone introduced me to “Rainstorm Blues” from their beautiful album Further, and it piqued my interest. This is their first record of new material since 2000’s full length Mirror. Composed entirely of instrumental tracks labeled Instrumental 1-15 (perhaps one for each year since the last release), this sequence of mind-expanding pieces requires a thorough sonic perusal from start to finish. Each song is different enough to stand on its own, and each listener will no doubt garner different impressions from what soundscaper/guitarist Dave Pearce presents here.
This is a band that was mining the droning ambient/pastoral vein of psychedelia long before anyone else, and it is employed to good effect here. “Instrumental 1” glides through as if the mother ship is blasting off into orbit, while “Instrumental 2” announces itself with a quiet herald of guitars. It is longer than the first instrumental, and more tentative in its approach. “Instrumental 3” could easily slide into the post rock genre, with heavily reverbed and layered guitars; it is nearly 6 and a half minutes of sonic bliss with warm waves of feedback. “Instrumental 4” is darkly dissonant, but beneath its drone is a delicate melody that would be lost without a good set of headphones. The drones remind me of low notes scraped on a cello, though it is probably Pearce’s guitar processed to sound like one. “Instrumental 5” is a brief respite from the feedback and reverb, precious and fragile in its brevity.
And then wow, “Instrumental 6” storms in with searing waves of feedback, the mother ship returning to waste humanity. It is brutally short, while “Instrumental 7” is substantially longer. It starts off sounding almost like a church organ played on the same note, while a second melody runs parallel “deep in the mix. It is a droning piece of great beauty, as simple as it is complex in its execution. Deep bass notes wash in and add to the quiet maelstrom, sucking the listener in. “Instrumental 8” is barely with you before it ends, while “Instrumental 9” proceeds sedately, as sublime an example of spacey dream pop as you’re likely to hear this year. It veers closer to ambient music, and illustrates just how prescient Pearce was all those years ago in those earlier recordings. “Instrumental 11” could be your soundtrack for gliding through a fog-drenched pond with sunbeams earnestly trying to pierce through the gloom. Pearce’s acoustic guitar and its solitary tone lends itself well to this soundscape. “Instrumental 12” is a brief pause before “Instrumental 13” works its mournful magic on your ears. I am reminded of a foghorn on a socked-in coastline, and a boat trying to avoid breaching on the rocks. “Instrumental 14” is more psychedelic in execution, with waves of white noise sounding almost like wind. And finally, “Instrumental 15” arrives, closing out the record more forcefully, underscoring all the themes explored on this release. For long time fans, this may register merely as a footnote in the band’s recorded canon, but for this listener, it was an enjoyable immersion and I am glad to see Pearce continuing his journey forward.
Order the album direct from Drag City Records
