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LP REVIEW
CUBIC SPACE DIVISION
1. RED SHIFT
Length: 50:43 (min:secs)
Available from:
www.cubicspacedivision.com
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It’s been a long wait for the release of this album - about a
year since their self financed "The Tesseract Diffusion” demo EP -
and with a foundation as solid as that to build on, it ensured that this
would be a very eagerly anticipated unveiling with high expectations for
them to maintain their excellence. And the four-piece from Kent haven’t let
us down or even slightly disappointed as they have created an astounding
album of quality and maturity with the production by Martin Barbour
and mastering by Joe Gibb adding a well-appointed frame to a pleasing
portrait. Mastering the art of intensity - both in the light and in the shade - the spirit of Mahumodo blesses these hypnotic blasts and is joined by a ghostly figure conducting the driving and occasionally off-kilter guitar charges and soaring melodies - one which has an earthtonal quality. The total is more than a collection of all the parts, it’s that special quality to take you beyond listening to just individual songs but to move you elsewhere, to suspend you for fifty minutes somewhere else. Sometimes using brute force, sometimes caressing with a silken glove, the challenging instances of ethereal repose are as pleasing as the melting vigour. Both “Red Shift” and “Per Se” make a welcomed encore from the EP and fit seamlessly amongst the aural battering and thundering zenith of “Higher State” through to “Bohemian Grove” with it’s Black Sabbath “Planet Caravan” style haunting and echoing prelude to an unprovoked heavy ear grating. The exploratory “Camber” takes a gentle jog along a leafy trail only to be ambushed by “X-Axis” which redirects the journey deep into the forest. “A Plane Without A Surface” seemingly draws from both Earthtone9 and Liberty 37’s poignant melody and the powerfully spellbinding yet majestic might. “Silhouette” has a dissipating energy that singes facial hair before dropping to an entrancing passage of entwining jangley guitar that disarms your acumen before reaching back out and tearing it in two and throwing it back at “Bear The Tide” which treats the entity with similar distain to completion. With this album, Cubic Space Division have managed to create something that is quite rare, something that is more than just an arbitrary compilation of songs, it’s an engulfing experience that gives as much as it takes. This is special - be part of it! Highly recommended.
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- Rigsby (31st
October, 2003) |