Review Summary: "Motion to Rejoin" is not just a statement, but a movement within the human psyche.
”Motion to Rejoin” is the polar opposite of your typical record. It's long, it meanders incessantly, it's extremely experimental, and most importantly it has no intention of leaving a lasting impression.
"And we fell into it. Like a daydream. Or a fever."-GY!BE
Indeed. In many ways this album is much like the famous line from "The Dead Flag Blues". Becoming more than just music, it slowly transforms into a introspective journey spent within. Its presence is truly infectious - much like a daydream. Or a fever.
The band Brightblack Morning Light is composed of Nathan Shineywater and his partner, Rachel Hughes. Now by no means are they your ordinary couple; in fact they fit nicely within the cliché descriptor “hippy”. Attempting to move away from the oppressive urbanized world, they eventually found themselves in New Mexico. Harnessing the solar energy of sun-drenched desert, they were then able to craft
”Motion to Rejoin”. Appropriately the album feels quite sun-washed in a certain sense as well. It's lethargic, the rhythms slowly swell, expanding and contracting at their own pace. Nothing feels forced in the slightest, in fact the album feels almost completely devoid of motivation. It is the heat stricken brow in which a single bead of sweat trickles down. It knows that as soon as the drop of sweat is wiped away, another will take its place.
”Motion to Rejoin” is complacent with its time and pace.
Curiously the record starts off somewhat accessible. The classic jazz influences paired with funk and soul dimensions makes for an appealing first impression. This plays into the concept of the album name “Motion to Rejoin”; Brightblack Morning Light, as much as they have distanced themselves from the modern society, have some desire to return to our world. This would explain why the album flirts with catchy choruses on tracks such as
”Hologram Buffalo” and “Oppressions Each”. In the end though, this is mere flirtation and nothing more. The album's delivery is swirling and elaborate, too foreign to actually be considered pop. Shineywater's vocals are whisps floating through the air, effortlessly drifting through the haze of horns, keyboards, and bass. The album progresses so slowly that it almost falls into the ambient-drone genre, except that classification is hardly suiting. The style of music is so unique that the freak-folk genre, though close, only loosely fits.
The album certainly achieves a very atmospheric effect; its faded sonic palette engulfs any unsuspecting listener in its path. Perhaps the New Mexico sun has actually fused itself into the very heart of the music. Inevitably the sounds are slowly melted together, wavering into the mirage of distant salvation. We are tempted with the prospect of escaping the dire heat of our sonic environment, yet our consciousness no longer exists as a physical manifestation. We are trapped in the glacial constructs of an in-limbo state; provoked by the surprisingly subtle nature of
”Motion to Rejoin”. In many ways the album is much like a dream: magical and charming but all too quickly forgotten. It often retreads itself, like a feather gently gliding back and forth as it falls to the ground. And like a feather, it is light and unassuming, eventually swept away by the northern winds. Nothing more than barren dry brush tumbling aimlessly across the burning sands of time.
Brightblack Morning Light's ethereal efforts on
”Motion to Rejoin” are what makes the album so enjoyable. The root of its appeal is the very same appeal of dreams: it has the immediate power to captivate but the indifference to remain anonymous. It is simple, unambitious and unassertive, instead empowering the listener to a higher mental state of self reflection. The empyreal sounds induce a heavenly trance, allowing for full immersion into our distant subconscious. As the the dream fades into oblivion, we awaken feeling refreshed and ready for the world; we are in
”Motion to Rejoin” our waking lives. Brightblack Morning Light are able to replicate the same, surreal experience of our deepest slumbers and upon every listen,
”Motion to Rejoin” remains as rejuvenating as the first. Its unpretentious nature fails to leave any lasting impression, however, this is the same factor that simultaneously keeps it so refreshing.
