Cassette Review: Catalan Coast "Bayou" (Midnight Circles)

€5 //
https://midnightcircles.bandcamp.com/album/bayou //
🎧 //

Ominous synths come through like waves with intergalactic electronics arriving in intervals.    After some silence a synth drone begins growing.   This maintains a soundscape for some time and it goes on uninterrupted.   This feels like it could either be set in space or underwater and there is a fine line between the two.    Sounds like shuffling or some kind of field recording idea come through as that ominous tone vanishes and reappears.     This is very minimal so far, desolate like an abandoned wasteland.    This is the sound of the sun rising and also the sun setting. 

"Bayou" paints pictures with less sound than other artists could hope to do with much more.  But as that old saying goes, sometimes less is more.   Sounds as if a car is shooting around a racetrack come out next.   I know it's not the sound of the Grand Prix as it feels more singular than an actual race but it has this feeling also to it where it could be looked upon as lightsabers to some extent- some sort of laser fight.    While this sound continues for a bit, it does end back with that quieter vibe as if we are floating once again.

Tones sort of like guitars or pianos come through a lot of static.  I'm not sure how much of this static exists digitally and how much is due to the hiss of the cassette, but it's still the appropriate amount.    It feels like a field recording with the wind blowing but there are also these notes coming through somehow, like the outside is capturing some sort of magic.   This takes us into a darker sort of boiler room place now.    It descends into there until it is completely gone.

Quieter tones wave their way back to the surface now.    Waves of distortion feel lost, tired and weak.    Slowly this grows and grows, but never too loudly and never too much.    It's atmospheric.    As it fades out you will either feel as if you have been stranded on some distant planet, left to die out at sea or simply you will find a calm understanding and peace.   Which one of those you choose though entirely relies on you and your grasp of this music.   However, it is very possible that you will listen to this once and think about it as being lost and the next time you hear it you might feel found which is the true testament to its beauty and grace.