With many a drone recordings, you can typically apply whatever mood you’re in and feel something, no matter where your head’s at. If you’re a tad melancholy, you’ve got a “dark, brooding opus” on your speakers; if life is going alright, the “blissed out tones carry you into the infinite.” The latest release from Portland, Oregon’s Beacon Sound bucks the trend with Avocationals, the first collaboration between Benoît Pioulard and Sean Curtis Patrick. A deep, pulsing, and meditative set of tape effects, manipulated vocals, and varied guitars and keys, Avocationals “is dedicated to 20th century Great Lakes shipwrecks.”
While you don’t have to hear water effects or ship horns to get acquainted with the vibe, that theme comes to mind when confronted with the lonely, adrift sounds contained throughout these nine tracks. I first heard the album walking through my home city’s downtown area before dawn, as I encountered bright lights and empty streets. Tracks like “Nordmeer” and “Furia” bring to mind a sense of isolation and decay that adds to the record’s faded historical theme. The treated tape loops and warped electronics conjure images of crumbling physical spaces, or ships passing in the night and disappearing into the darkness.
Thankfully, the sunny days of spring and summer haven’t quite reached us; there’s still plenty of time to put on Avocationals to get that dark, brooding sensation a few more times this winter. Lucky for us all, the album is out today (order HERE), and we’ve got the whole thing streaming below.
More about: Benoît Pioulard & Sean Curtis Patrick
