BelongSame Places (Slow Version) 12”
(2008, Table of Elements)
Verdict = Only 14+ minutes, but still totally worth it
Ambient drone duo Belong are having a fairly productive year in 2008 which, in and of itself, makes 2008 a great year for music. Same Places is their second limited vinyl only EP to be released in preparation for the sophomore follow-up to their amazing debut, October Language. Don’t let the EP thing throw you off though because, just like their Colorloss Record earlier this year, Same Places is absolutely essential. To put the band in context, at least for those familiar with the blog, Belong sits in the same pristine, almost godlike arena of similar ambient artists like The Fun Years or Axolotl. You know - these are artists who require you to pickup everything they put out without hesitation simply because they always exceed your expectations. Same Places is no different. The clear 12” carries a single track that barely exceeds 14 minutes on one side of the vinyl (the b-side has an awesome etching that fits the aesthetic nicely). Initially my faith in the worthwhile nature of the record was diminished upon discovering the time factor, but after listening Same Places (Slow Version…whatever that means) I was left absolutely stunned. Building on the heavily layer slow moving drone formula of genre luminaries like Tim Hecker and Fennesz, Belong has created one of the best single long form drone tracks that I have heard since Eluvium’s “Taken” from Talk Amongst the Trees (which is a considerable thing considering that that song is probably my favourite single drone track of all time). It’s that good and, being that good, is totally worth the price of admission for the glorious 12”. Now the only question for Belong is: where is the full length?
-Mr. Thistle
Belong's Same Places (Slow Version) as uploaded by the band for free!
3 comments:
This damn fine work. The vinyl is well worth the purchase!
"these are artists who require you to pickup everything they put out without hesitation simply because they always exceed you expectations." Can I get an Amen!
Btw, nice all time fave drone song. I'd rank that album as a whole as one of the best drone records ever.
Sheesh Justin, did you have to quote a sentence with a glaring grammatical error? :) I guess they're kinda hard to avoid. Edit: ...exceed youR expectations
PS - thanks for the comments.
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