White.Light.Monorail – The Gravitational Field Of Oblivion (Album – Solid.Grey.Sky.Recordings)
Genre/Influences: Indie pop-rock, electronic, industrial-ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: We all know Tyler Newman for his involvement with Informatik, but he was also a member of Battery Cage. Together with another Battery Cage member, Paul Savio, he set up White.Light.Monorail. Five years after their debut album “Welcome To Our Domed Future” they’re now back on track unleashing “The Gravitational Field Of Oblivion”. The EP “Oblivion” preceded the album.
Content: Comparisons with Informatik and Battery Cage are obvious on a few cuts, but globally speaking this album also explores different other fields. From the opening cut “Oblivion”, which has something indie-like to the instrumentals and more psychedelic driven “1984” and “An Infinite Timeline Of Pain And Suffering” there already is a serious difference. “Babul” again is something different being characterized by a sort of Eastern sonic sphere. Other cuts have something more ambient-like while driven by a slow cadence. Therefore, in the end this album sounds a bit like a sonic exorcism featuring songs the musicians couldn’t maybe use in other projects.
+ + + : Diversity is for sure one of the keywords to define this album. However, more than being simply a versatile work, the songs are well-crafted revealing several noticeable cuts. There also is an old-school electronic element emerging at a few songs, which I like. Some of the best cuts are the instrumental ones (cf. “1984”, “An Infinite Timeline Of Pain And Suffering”, “Airwaves”), but I also have to tip “Oblivion” for its cool chorus and “Silence : Transformed”, which sounds closer to Informatik.
– – – : A bit more vocals could have been a bonus for the album, but the main difficulty for White.Light.Monorail will be to conquer fans, the album being impossible to label as one established music genre.
Conclusion: “The Gravitational Field Of Oblivion” has something versatile, but revealing enjoyable ideas, which might appeal for open-minded lovers.
Best songs: “Silence : Transformed”, “1984”, “Frozen Fire”, “Airwaves”.
Rate: (7½).
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
