The North Bend by Rafael Anton Irisarri
LABEL: ROOM40

There is quite possibly no career death knell more profound than a critic making the statement: “a solid addition.” It implies a refinement of past sounds with little in the way of innovation, a release that offers little to the canon of the established artist. In a field that seems so easy to slip into this repetition, Anton Rafael Irisarri continues to surprise as he naturally glides through the traps, staying true to an original vision while introducing subtle (yet dynamic) changes with each release. The North Bend is one of his most focused and complete works yet, on par with the superb It All Falls Apart under his The Sight Below moniker.

“While developing from the intuitive, improvisational worlds of Fennesz and Basinski, the album feels like a contemporary nod towards bands like Slowdive and Joy Division”

While still relying on his signature wash of droning synths and treated guitars, Irisarri introduces a lot more textural motifs in this release. Fractured loops, delicate percussive phrases, and gently deteriorated audio provide a stylistic shift to the album, recalling the purely audio explorations of legends like William Basinski and Brian Eno. These elements allow more breathing room for the songs, with the guitars and synths having to pull less weight. The result is a more varied, dynamic record, both sonically and compositionally.

Irisarri has moved closer towards developing an entirely new language for actual songwriting, combining aesthetics from ambient, shoegaze and post-punk into a form of stunning individuality. While developing from the intuitive, improvisational worlds of Fennesz and Basinski, the album feels like a contemporary nod towards bands like Slowdive and Joy Division: melodic, repetitive and haunting. His strongpoint has always been to keep sophisticated experimentation musical, and The North Bend is the culmination of this sensibility.

Irisarri’s progression just within this year has been astonishing, and we have a few months left to discover if The North Bend will be the powerful climax or a strong continuation towards something even greater. As it stands, the album is a leap forward for the artist and a work of profound beauty and significance in the electronic medium.


REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS
NEIL’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Blue Tomorrow” • “A Great Northern Sigh” • “Deception Falls”


FREE MP3: “Blue Tomorrows” (right-click & save)