Wired to Follow’s ambient drones continue to impress me as I dive into their back catalogue and this five track release is another example of their fine work.
Opener “Lucy” is a spacious drone that has the thinnest veil of percussive cymbal and kick drum underneath. Slowly rumbling echoing guitar harmonics growl into the mix as the track bursts into a real drum kit. The music then falls away to an ambient moan and groan as an evocative and emotional conversation which is played out in a fuzzy phone style. It’s well pitched and flows into “Unix Epoch” which uses gentle piano low chords over guitar harmonics and rumbling cymbals. It’s slow build into an odyssey is the stuff softer post rock is made for – sublime. “Abort, Retry, Fail?” then explodes into a huge electric guitar drone of a single two chord riff that pushes its way through the clouds. Keyboards and synths then push in robotic noises and other tunes over the top. It’s a magical track that feels like your crashing in from space. “I Wish I Could Talk in Technicolour” is a more synth based prog rock track the takes a simple and long chord structure and bleeds it across several minutes of build up and drum loop and then the release ends with “Difference Machine (Live)” which has a heart beat as a drum beat over a celestial synth rack which gets more militant and brassy as the beat intensifies and then leaves as the track fades away.
Prog rock isn’t for everyone but Wired to Follow continue to show they are leaders in their field. Their music gives me emotions that make me feel like a small cog in a larger universe and that is a humble and wooing experience.