Review Summary: Yet another step forward.
When it comes to music, lofty ambition has its place, but there is also virtue in focusing on the basics, getting down to brass tacks and exploring a project’s essence. Akron-based experimentalist Myles Oliver appears to have done just that with his latest venture under the King Green moniker. With
Bionic Ark Holography, he has boiled down his brand of aural assault to a heavy-hitting, 30-minute collection that encapsulates all of his project’s best qualities and, as a result, delivered his strongest offering since 2015's nightmarishly good
Jaded Claws and Glistening Outmodes.
Elements of darkwave, avant-garde jazz and metal coalesce to portray, albeit in a less organic fashion, the highly advanced, hyper-paced world previously presented in Oliver’s ancillary project’s latest work, Count to Altek’s
Simulating Contact Against Thraxus. Passages of raucous, freeform black metal interpose moments of resonant beauty and vice versa throughout the record’s duration, immersing the listener in the chaotic deep reaches of space and the heart of King Green’s raw, sci-fi reality. Here be the dwelling place of dark titans, enigmatic “Scanners” and the omnipotent Autochron.
Pummeling drum work from Sam "He-Man" Hess at once serves to drive and discombobulate Oliver’s humming synthesizers and newcomer Vladimir Ornoz’s discordant strumming, resulting in some the record’s highest highs. Opener "Central Control" perfectly introduces the record’s percussive, bleak and unconstrained atmosphere and may be the band’s strongest opening number since "Nocturnal Navigator" from the aforementioned
Jaded Claws and Glistening Outmodes. Other highlights include the surprise surges of distorted synthesizer tapestries, percussion sprints and muffled alien grunts that impede the airy guitar leads of “Reiyu”; the rising tension buttressed by chromatic synth runs in “Gathering Energy Spheres”; and the trumpeting, cinematic coda of “The Inside View”.
It should also be noted that overall production quality has improved considerably this time around. With the implementation of better equipment and different miking techniques, Oliver has achieved a new level of audial clarity that reveals fresh complexities in the music without demeaning the project’s character. Without it, key ingredients that distinguish this record from previous King Green outings, such as the 80s influence coloring the effects of Vlad’s echoing guitar lines, might have been more difficult to detect.
By setting sights high without losing hold on King Green’s defining traits, this forward-thinking outfit has managed to take another step forward. It’s not without its challenges, but for those who enjoy a healthy dose impressionism and improvisation with their experimental music,
Bionic Ark Holography is recommended listening.
