Contact

Following the collaborative hybrid project Whale Song in the same year, Landshapes third proper studio long-player, Contact, was recorded with a different approach than prior albums. With the intention to avoid tendencies toward preciousness, as lead vocalist Luisa Gerstein put it, they tracked the songs live in the studio with producer Kwes. The sessions also included some fresh timbres, including first-time guitar pedals and synths. Starting things off with bang, so to speak, the album opens with a chord-underscored burst of noise on Rosemary, a prologue-type track that eventually settles into their spooky retro pop/rock. Crashing cymbals, distorted vocals, and mechanical blips are all part of its high-contrast design. That leads into the jammy, melodic psychedelic rock of Siberia, while third track Drama introduces four on the floor and spacy synths. Throughout the album, these varied stylistic references are tied together by the 60s psych-pop vibe of Gersteins vocal lines, with touches like the glitchy signal noise and swirling engine-like effects, in the case of Drama, implying a complementary mid-century sci-fi. Also tying things together is the live aspect; whether taking in the dreamy sinuousness of Im Mortal or the explosive, chanting pop of Let Me Be, the songs here live and breathe. The latters stomping drums, jagged guitar interjections, and brief eruptions of rhythmic cacophony play out like an encore. The albums actual closer, Conductor, is an airy, wistful piano ballad turned rock improvisation that ends things in appropriately dramatic fashion. While Contacts exploratory bent doesnt produce to the bands most memorable material track for track, its an engaging long-form listen for those who plug in. ~ Marcy Donelson