TimeFold

Prolific Arizona-based duo Trees Speak continue their incredible run of retro-tinged imaginary soundtracks, or albums that wouldve had expansive gatefold sleeves adorned with elaborate fantasy artwork back in the day, with their seventh full-length, TimeFold. For this album, the pair heavily pull from early electronic music influences, from musique concrete tape manipulation to the progressive epics of Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre. The opening title track is a sequencer-driven vista befitting the albums desert planet cover art. From there, the album enters a more cinematic realm, with trippy drumming and almost-Baroque melodies as well as haunting atmospheric effects that add a touch of suspense. The Mellotron-glazed "Emotion Engine" is closer to Broadcast/Stereolab territory, "Phenomena" is another kosmische arpeggio-core moment, and others are in the hallucinatory league of the Ghost Box label. Ashley Christine Edwards occasional distorted narration contributes a sense of supernatural paranoia to the music, almost taking it in a surreal, psychological horror direction. But then there are blissful moments of reverie like the sparkling synth arcs of "Cybernetics," which sounds like a rainbow progressively growing larger and messier. The barreling drums and piercing guitar noise of "Synchrotron" make for an unexpected goth/post-punk detour, but things eventually return to suspenseful psychedelia with "Silicon Visions." Trees Speaks curious world keeps expanding with every successive release, and TimeFold is just as fascinating as the rest of their discography. ~ Paul Simpson