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SE: Epiphora CD Review [Tympanik Audio] |
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Contributed by Tony Young
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Friday, 29 May 2009 |
 Another new find for Chicago’s Tympanik Audio, and yet again displaying an ear for all things great, no short measures here.
Opening with ‘Komplex_A’ this is more of an intro than anything else and is significantly different to what’s on store come the rest of the album; a backwards and splintered jaunt that immediately drops and leads into proper tracks one as such ‘15mg’. This is simply beautiful from the off with light ambient tones and subtle beat structures that pop through ever so slowly. Warm bass synth slowly rise through the mix to then be partnered by wonderfully sprinkles of tones that have an immediate haunting quality before the beats rise slowly moiré chaotically through the mix and you know you are in for something special.
There is a slight urgency that SE incorporate into some numbers and it ebbs and flows waiting for you to catch up occasionally. Some might shout Gridlock when hearing some of Epiphora such as tracks like ‘Hitchhiker’ and they would be forgiven for that, but I would say it leans towards the more Bitcrush end of the scale as sounds go in its album entirety; but these are only slight similarities as I believe SE actually bring more to the table on the listening scale with less messing around in some respect.
Simplicity is the key to SE, never overstating itself; ‘I need a medic’ is simply one of the most engaging and beautiful pieces of Electronica I have heard in some time, nothing trips up over itself, gentle pads and rich bleeping notes pattern this out into something really special. It’s a similar unchanging pattern for much of the track but it’s enough to ground you and slap you across your face, demanding your full attention.
The most astonishing factor surrounding SE is that this is their debut album. If this is the future of electronic music, then we are in good hands; It is heart warming to realise there are such great new acts out there in the world.
‘Epiphora’ is a driving, moving album with constant reference to emotion; sometimes clinical, occasionally sparse, but has all the key elements that edge towards brilliance.
9.5/10 Tony Young
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