Ryan Lee West, known to many as the man behind Rival Consoles, has put together his ninth album, Landscape from Memory, “from a scrapbook of discarded audio snippets” (according to a press release sent me) and synths and sounds made in hotel rooms and other spaces after taking a year off from music and, for a little while, losing his creative spark.
Thankfully, Rival Consoles found the energy and drive again and has released a fine record of ambient music, dance grooves, and atmospheric sonics. “In Reverse” starts the album with Radiohead-like synth bumps and bubbles and acoustic guitar that drifts in and out of those synths like happy birds coasting between trees. The beautiful “Catherine” is a song for West’s love, who helped him rediscover his love for composition and creating soundscapes.
“Drum Song” is well-named for its thumping, bumping beats. “Soft Gradient Beckons” is the sound of a happy, robotic bird waking up with the sun. It perfectly floats into “Gaivotas,” and that nicely drifts into the almost-industrial dance track “Coda.” “Known Shape” is an almost weightless dance track that feels like something you’d hear in a spaceport lounge. The fade out of “Nocturne” will make you feel like you’re calmly walking into or out of a fog.
“Jupiter” pulls you in like its namesake’s gravity and gets your toes tapping as you slide into orbit and feel your molecules vibrating. “In a Trance” (made in a New York hotel room) might put you there, and the ethereal “If Not Now” will help you stay in that meditative state for a while longer. The synths on “2 Forms” sound like they’re half-awake but still helping you dance at 3am.
“Tape Loop” has a twinge of suspense to it, and the title track closes the album with an uplifting energy – the kind that West found while making the track and the rest of the album while dealing with…well, everything everyone is dealing with right now.
Memory is often fuzzy, and creating or describing a landscape from it is often wrought with inaccuracies. This landscape created by Rival Consoles, however, feels lush and familiar…even in the darker parts. It feels like the right place at the right moment – which is right now.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media.]
