Hyper-ambient wonder-kid, Not Noah Lennox, or some couple of dudes now (people seem to be thinking ("Neither Noah Lennox?")), RxRy, finally, after three bedroom-churned bliss-outs (and some EPs)--freely distributed--can now be heard where it was appropriate he/they should be heard from all along: etched into a vinyl plate. Alpha finds RxRy perpetuating the crumbling pulse-heavy astro-electronics of previous albums, only this time with a healthy dose of ADHD. Clocking in somewhere between an EP and a full-length, Alpha is headphone candy of the brain-burstingly serene variety, in as much as the two can coexist. The step up to a physical format is much deserved. Hopefully the first in a long line RxRy tunes pressed to wax.
It’s only July and already RxRy is breathing down our necks with another full length slab of super-beautiful, minimalist electronica. If you read my review of his self titled debut LPearlier this year, you’ll know that I’m super psyched on this kid. Mixing a knack for shimmering, emotive drones with an expertise at slow building beat-centric perfection, RxRy has matched his debut with an equally elated, equally life affirming, perhaps better album of pure headphone bliss. VAEIOUWLS ebbs and flows spiritually through its ten tracks and, though it is separated into separate suites, there is no reason during the course of the album that you will ever want to stray. It’s a complete structure from beginning to end and, even in its inherent simplicity, quite an achievement of mood construction. Remember those electronic chill compilations? The ones that mixed some of your favourite downbeat electronic artists with a mix of mediocre ones? The ones with the bikini’d babes slapped on the cover? If you remove the marketing aspect of those albums and access the desire for a perfect mix of moody electronic transportation, what’s being sought there is presented here in VAEIOUWLS at is most primal and evocative. Man, I feel bad for even bringing up those old comps. They do not belong in comparison with this record. Even still, that perfectly isolating, interior assemblage of digital mind destruction, it’s here. And, since the record labels RxRy’s pursuing haven’t seemed to catch on to the sheer genius of this stuff, it is available for free. Plan on seeing RxRy twice on my year end list.
I always feel like I’m somehow doing artists a disservice when I compare them to other artists. I don’t know why. Maybe because I think that they will disagree with the comparison or that the mention of some other similar artist will somehow diminish the originality the artists work. If so, it’s not intentional. Mostly it just feels like I can’t properly describe the music without a reference point. I think I've described this anxiety before. Regardless, I’m about to do some heavy weight this-sounds-kinda-like-but not-really sinning right now: So, while big name electronic artists like Four Tet and Pantha du Prince have both released absolutely amazing jams this year in the realms of minimalist, 4/4 electronic music, this kid comes from out of nowhere with this. On his/her/their self-titled debut, RxRy has created an album which sounds kind of like a mix between Talk Amongst The Trees and This Bliss (sorry, I’ve been mentioning both of these albums far too much lately). That may not be a perfect picture of RxRy’s sound, but at least it gets you half way there. Upping the ambient textures, RxRy is plowing into fields that everyone saw a glimpse of in From Here We Go Sublime (pun not intended). And, as you can see by the company I’m affording him/her/them, RxRy’s sound is really good. No, I mean really good. Yeah. That good. It is so funny that in a year where I’ve had such high expectations from forthcoming releases from so many blockbuster artists, that all these no namers have been killing it. Translation: RxRy’s album is better than Four Tet’s and Pantha du Prince’s. It’s been a position hard won too. I didn’t really give this album the time of day when I first got it, but eventually, after I had already moved on from Black Noise and There Is Love In You, I noticed that I couldn’t stop listening to RxRy. It's absolutely addicting. Not only that, but its listenability proves that RxRy has put some quality time into this thing. It stands the test of time. So, now you know who it sounds-kinda-like-but-not-really. How would I describe it on my own terms? I think the purple hues on the cover are a start. Think about a dark purple sky, a night setting, and a black metropolis molded by the lights hanging off the buildings. RxRy feels like the sound you hear when the street noise gets drowned out by the sheer audible beauty of your visual surroundings. I sinks its hooks in your pulse and then drives you through the fissured grains of beautiful darkness. Of nightness. This is one of those albums that works well at absurdly early morning hours, when sleep won’t come and you need to let yourself sink deep into an abstract consciousness. Great textures, great pacing, great melodic molasses moving ever so slowly throughout. Really highly recommended. Oh, and in the beautiful gift economy that is running rampant among so many talented up-and-comers, RxRy has given us the album for free. Now there is no excuse (see below).
