Flowchart - Cumulus Mood Twang

BATHED IN BLISS, BAPTIZED FOR INFINITY

I was in love from second one. Without any warning or gradual lead-up, Flowchart transports you into bedazzled, budding bliss on 'Envelopment Continuum.' Piano keys dance erratically around euphoric chants and tribal drums, engulfed by a maximalist agenda hellbent on traipsing off an earth bound by nature's criterion. Though their measures are varied and eclectic throughout, this holds true for the entirety of Cumulus Mood Twang, a masterclass in psychedelic overload. Flowchart perfectly balance often-irritating Drone with enriching soundscapes that layer ad-infinitum over one another, wisened to the need for repetition in hypnotic music. The prominent vocal sample on 'Platform Cloud' even hints at this ideology, as his nonchalant "it's there for a reason" loops and caroms across gentle clouds caught soaring across an arching rainbow. In fact, this supposed-therapist's clinical dissection is really the only point throughout the 54-minute long LP in which English is prominently heard. For Flowchart understands that, where we're going, language isn't necessary. Grunts, coos, sighs, and shrieks dual between both male and female vocalists, intent more on becoming one with the higher power (of music), and less with inculcating a narrative.

Each song brings a distinct identity to the table. 'Another Word Explodes' is the most instantaneously-impressive, what with its clairvoyant Outsider House that rattles caged walls with thunderous rhythms and growing petulance. Here, the loops are addicting and monopolizing, cornering every inch of surface that could possibly be reached. It's a truly singular song that only moderately borrows from the Electronic trends of the mid-1990's (namely Ambient Techno and EBM, finding a haunting middle ground between the two). 'Rain Boa Bye' regresses with an extended interlude reversal of sorts, not entirely removed from The Stone Roses or Spacemen 3 had they been stripped of guitars. 'Yosho' uses vocal layering and indecipherable phrases over elastic synthesizers, amounting to a relaxed, aquatic feel best suited for still ponds rich with life.

'Rust A La Glare' achieves euphoria with a plethora of quirky, television samples and percussive delirium that ascends into a beaming, bright abyss. Though it's not reminiscent of Stereolab, the eccentric influences can be felt. 'Grain Of Apology' is pure celestial Ambient, akin to Brian Eno's space-faring works, providing a necessary respite after the momentous 'Rust A La Glare,' segueing beautifully into the closer 'Icicles & Clipboards.' Here, Flowchart's come down persists, drifting aimlessly in the ether after an exhausting LSD trip. It's proof-positive - along with everything else on Cumulus Mood Twang - that Flowchart were capable of achieving the near-impossible: Psychedelic music for all occasions. It's not all dreams, not all nightmares, not all reprieve. Much like its cover's visual accompaniment, it's all moments at once.