Review Summary: Matthew Cooper, otherwise known as Eluvium, introduces himself with a delicately stunning debut.
Lambent: defined as
flickering lightly over or on a surface, effortlessly light or brilliant. Keeping this in mind, it becomes clear that there is no other adjective that could be more suitable for the material offered here on Matthew Cooper's debut. In truth, this first full length under the recording alias of Eluvium boasts only five tracks and feels much more like an elongated EP. Its length is also mostly due to the fifteen minute standout track offered, with the remaining four standing just around five minutes each, give or take.
Don't let the modest presentation fool you, as the name alone is reason enough to believe that there is much more here than meets the eye. As the title
Lambent Material implies, this unassuming body of work touches ever so lightly against the psyche and leaves ripples that spread forth and eventually cascade within themselves. The more I listened, the more I came to find that images were conjuring themselves up from within my mind as though playing out scenes with the album as its soundtrack. Despite this, each listen left me feeling less and less capable of adequately expressing this musical experience simply through words.
At times it seems very quiet and reserved, and at others very dense and active, but these are subjective terms open to interpretation. I had decided finally that the only way to properly assess this offering was to describe, in some detail, the scenario that is brought to life in my mind as I listen...
Imagine for a moment that you are laying on your back, eyes unfocused but pointed upwards into the sky. Though the horizon is beyond your peripheral vision, you are able to notice the subtle movement of trees rustling timidly against the wind. Better yet, recall this very instance from whatever home it has claimed in your mind and remember how your thoughts seemed to drift into the faint breeze and ascend further and further with it. ~ The Unfinished
Fading away just as quietly as it enters, the first track rises slowly out of silence with the sound of swirling synth textures. As if propelled by the faintest trace of wind, the motive cycles about itself without feeling overbearing while setting a particular gentleness that is so light it seems to act as the mind itself lifting high above.
Becoming passively transfixed with the clouds high above you have convinced yourself, though they seem to remain static, that your thoughts alone are encouraging them along like blankets draping over top of your sight. The sounds of the nature surrounding you encompasses your senses and numbs you to the point where for a moment, if only very briefly, the world about you speaks in silence and the slightest details are left for you to indulge in. ~ Under the Water it Glowed
The subsiding of the curtains of noise gives way to the steady and subtle picking of a guitar line that follows the same cyclic nature as before. Much like clouds drifting high above the hum of ambient droning creeps along about the motive, growing very gradually in volume until finally the guitar is overcome and the drones sigh into silence.
You are suddenly flooded with a sense of nostalgia as snippets of memories and images alike are provoked, surfacing and almost projecting themselves against the endless expanse of sky before you. The hint and immediate passing of a familiar scent recalls youthful days climbing trees and playing in autumn leaves. The feeling of weightlessness growing in your chest stirs up a reminder of a simpler time and rouses a bittersweet smile that masks the yearning to know days long since lost to age. ~ There Wasn't Anything
Moving closer toward the middle of the disc the backdrop of sound draping over top of the listener is stripped away. Instead a solitary piano sounds out against the acoustics of the room with little accompaniment. You can hear voices echoing in the distance, hint of the news perhaps reporting on a recent tragedy, and eventually the somber, mourning baritone of an oboe joins in. Beside being the first time a primary focus rests on the piano, it also serves as the first break from the swirling repetition of phrases. A noticeable "melody" can be identified, but it is one that seems almost to be played freely much like the wandering of thoughts.
Now feeling as though you want to close your eyes, something inside you is fearful that opening them up again would reveal the visages in your mind to have vanished. You notice a sinking in your heart and a sigh slowly rises to escape your lips, and at this moment you realize that you've been holding your breath with the hope that your thoughts will remain within you as well. Your memories only breed more from long ago and begin to swirl in what gradually becomes a whirlpool of inner dialogue. Every word you have ever spoken or heard you remember in full detail, but you still mouth the syllables to yourself as they only sound muted within your thoughts. ~ Zerthis Was a Shivering Human Image
The longest track of the disc by far also acts as the noisiest one with walls of sound that swell, expand and contract within themselves. Granted, it stands out as being the most noisy only because of the relatively quiet nature of the other tracks. The feeling is that of a blissful chaos or peaceful turmoil taking place inside the mind. Like the flaring of emotions building up with nowhere to escape, there is no discernible melodies and no drastic changes beside the wave-like subsiding and following crashes. Despite running on a bit longer than it could or should, it captures a very dense intensity and executes it effectively with the constant resolving of consonance.
The urge to blink causes you to do so inadvertently for what feels like the very first time and your attention is directed to the warmth in the very back of your eyes. Your chest rises and a second breath is drawn to the sound of nearby passing cars, reintroduced to your ears while the stirring within your mind has dissipated into but a memory of its own. Taking note that the clouds seem to be in the same position you sit, with your body heavy and your mind exhausted, and watch the world return to its rightful alignment feeling refreshed and inexplicably whole. ~ I Am So Much More Me That You Are Perfectly You
In fact, the final track is one that features a Rhodes piano against the sound of cars passing by in the distance. As a closer, it feels much like an epilogue after the fifteen minute field of ambiance that is
Zerthis.... There are no accompanying blankets of noise to this, however, only the quiet Rhodes and the sensation of waking up to a rainy day. That said, the entirety of
Lambent Material really is much like the sweet drifting into a dream of sorts and the density of the awaiting subconscious. The scenario offered here is but one interpretative representation of the music, but the record is so wonderfully emotive and vivid that it truly is left to the listener to envision for themselves. I welcome and highly encourage you to experience your own.
Recommended Tracks:
The Unfinished
There Wasn't Anything
Zerthis Was a Shivering Human Image
