Circulatory System
Circulatory System
[Cloud]
Rating: 9.5
When you're dreaming, time becomes fluid. The steady, firmly ingrained
progression of seconds, minutes, and hours breaks from its linear, unilateral
form to allow for drastic changes in magnitude and direction. Hours can
slink by with no conscious recollection of the passage of time, and seemingly
infinite journeys can occur within the span of a few minutes. Several
different things can exist in the same place at the same time, and within the
context of your dream, it always seems to make perfect sense. You're never
surprised when you've traveled from one end of the earth to the other in a
couple of seconds-- the change in the nature of time alters not only your
surroundings, but your perception of them as well.
This, the self-titled debut from Olivia Tremor Control mastermind Will Cullen
Hart, is one of the few albums I've heard that can effectively blur the line
between real-world time and dream-world time. With its illusory, ethereal
production, wistful melodies, and oft-funereal pace, this is one of those
rare albums that can completely absorb you in such a way as to almost
dissolve the world around you, and make you feel like you've been transported
to another realm of existence within the course of 58 minutes.
While not an Olivia Tremor Control release by name, there are very few elements
here that will be unfamiliar to fans of the band. Aside from Bill Doss, just
about everyone who's ever contributed to an OTC release is present, making
for a grand total of 21 musicians involved in its making. Given the sheer
volume of people contributing, and Cullen Hart's history with layering sound,
it's no surprise that Circulatory System is a sonically dense album.
But here, more than on any Olivia Tremor Control record, Cullen Hart displays
an almost supernatural talent for melding these sounds into a single entity
that is absolutely enveloping, and for shaping that entity around a powerful
melody. In some ways, the absence of Bill Doss seems to be a blessing, turning
the once-Olivia sound inward as Hart is left to explore his own lyrical and
sonic ruminations on time, death, and the nature of humanness.
Initially, Circulatory System sounds remarkably dark. Mournful
percussion, ambiguous and ominous noises, and minor chords galore conjure
vague, hazy images of death and sorrow. The upbeat, pop/rock of the Olivia
Tremor Control, showcased on songs like "The Opera House" from Dusk at
Cubist Castle and Black Foliage's "A New Day," has all but
evaporated. But in its place stands some of the most deeply reflective
psychedelic music ever laid to tape.
"Inside Blasts" serves as perhaps a perfect archetype of Cullen Hart's new
direction. Opening with only accordion and his muffled voice, the song
gradually builds with stereo banjos, Dirty Three-style violins, and sparse
drumming. Fuzzed-out bass enters the fray, alongside eerie tones that could
best be described as what a music box might sound like if it were made out
of a coffin. Sounds are added so subtly that they almost become subliminal,
sinking deeply into the folds of your brain without necessarily registering
any kind of conscious reaction. And when a change is substantial enough to
make you take notice, its impact is greatly intensified by the minute
variations surrounding it. A little more than halfway into "Inside Blasts,"
many of the elements that have built up over the course of the song suddenly
cut out, as layers of vocal harmony and odd percussive noises are introduced.
It's a near-perfect sonic approximation of sadness and beauty, and without
question one of the album's best moments.
Another high point comes with "Yesterday's World," the album's opener and
possibly its most direct, poppy track. Fuzzy guitars, layered horns, and
trashy tambourines back up one of the best melodies Cullen Hart has ever
penned. But even "Yesterday's World" has a strong undercurrent of
philosophical reflection and melancholy to it. As Cullen Hart questions,
"Can we go back in time/ Can we bring, can we bring, can we bring these
days," the instruments backing him slowly fade out, leaving only his
increasingly uncertain-sounding voice.
Indeed, nagging uncertainty seems to be one of many thematic threads that
help make Circulatory System such a cohesive, affecting album. The
record's closer, "Forever," consists only of the words, "We will live forever
and you know it's true," sung in a disturbing, otherworldly melody by Cullen
Hart and Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum, as well as a slew of others.
By far the most haunting moment on the album, "Forever" is the sound of a
campfire singalong of long-forgotten ghosts, lamenting the infinite loneliness
of eternal life.
As "Forever" fades out, reality slowly begins to creep back in. The sounds,
words, and voices on Circulatory System linger as a memory, but not
as a memory of an album. Bits and pieces of melodies refuse to leave you, and
you find yourself listening to the record over and over again to see if the
vaporous melodies are real, or just figments of your imagination. You listen
seeking comfort, but find only more depth in the album's uncertainty. Like a
dream, you can never shake the feeling that your memory of Circulatory
System is never quite the same as the original. Unlike a dream, you can
revisit that original as many times as you wish.
-Matt LeMay