Composed for a dance production by choreographer Alexander Whitley,
Rival Consoles
' album
Overflow
examines technology in the age of social media. The music attempts to interpret the overwhelming sensation of being bombarded with content, as well as the emotional response to the awareness of exploitative marketing companies and political factions shaping the social media experience. Some of the compositions incorporate manipulated voices, and hearing them approximates being lost in a stream of constant data with little to latch onto. "The Cloud Oracle" is a soup of overlapping voices over somber organ; try to focus on what they're saying, and phrases like "cloud encryption" and "open source project" are all that stand out. "Overflow" has more rapid, chattering voices that are matched with granulated distortion and crunchy, abstract beat patterns. "Scanning" is filled with rustling noises sourced from an electromagnetic recording of an iPhone accessing social media, going under the surface and revealing the sound of technology in action. While much of the album is taken up by experimental mood pieces like these, there's also a significant number of sprawling, progressive tracks. Ten-minute opener "Monster" is full of suspense, building up a knocking, tiptoeing beat while the atmosphere remains queasy and off-center in a shoegaze-influenced manner. Two "Noise Call and Response" pieces are based around a grainy, thudding loop, with the second developing into a grand epic with a clippy,
Autechre
-ish beat and tense, illuminating strings. "Flow State" is a lengthy rush of shimmering arpeggios and fast, muted kicks, concluding with an extended beatless wash. After the menacing, overpowering crunch of "Touches Everything," "Making Sense of It All" is a fragile, wavering reflection that resembles a throbbing headache as you finally put your phone down and attempt to drift off to sleep. ~ Paul Simpson