NEW WEATHER
Sean Curley, Tomory Dodge, Amber Rossino
Album title: No Future
Release Date: June 6, 2017 on Happy Accidents Records
Four years after their sleekly propulsive self-titled debut album, Seattle trio New
Weather return with a three-track EP that reflects the darker times in which we find
ourselves. Whereas New Weather exuded a tempered brand of optimism with its
ascending chord progressions and radiant synth tones reminiscent of Zuckerzeit-era
Cluster or Stereolab at their most gloriously motorik-lovin' (even the ominous “Heat
Death” possesses flickers of hope), No Future is shot through with a gnawing sense of
imminent doom. But even as it portends trouble, the record can't help sounding like one
of the sexiest terminal rocket rides you're ever likely to take.
The opening track, “No Future,” posits Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream in
a cosmic-disco scenario that's as sensual as it is chilling. Rarely has blunt lyrical
nihilism—consisting of Amber Rossino's Arctic exhalations of the title—existed in such
ultra-vivid textural lavishness. On “Complex,” a Seefeel-like array of Rossino's layered
vocals form a pristine halo over a mesmerizing synth pulsation that tolls with doomsday
portent while a rumbling bass foundation reinforces the track's ominous aura.
Perversely, there's a faint hint of Lipps Inc.'s debauched 1979 hit “Funkytown” in the
main melody. The EP closes with a majestic flourish with “Abstract Organ.” Here New
Weather mute and slow what could be the uplifting motif of a '90s rave anthem to evoke
a much more sociopolitically tense time. A gradually evolving tune blossoms into a
heart-wrenching meditation worthy of French synth master Zed/Bernard Szajner's
Visions Of Dune album. It's the soundtrack to witnessing a civilization crumble in slow
motion.
On No Future. New Weather have distilled disco and old-school techno's most
auspicious elements into an enchanting aural elixir that, paradoxically, posits brilliant
times in tomorrow's haunted discotheques—and right now in your headphones.
Includes unlimited streaming of No Future
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Inspired by his family and the Adriatic Sea, the Italian producer crafts his ambient techno with a palpable emotional undercurrent. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 18, 2024