The Deep Bells - Liberte [Sound In Silence 124]

Put out on the circuit via the long standing Greek label Sound In Silence is "Liberte", the first full length album collaboraboration between Jon Attwood a.k.a. Yellow 6 and Jason T. Lamoreaux a.k.a. The Corrupting Sea who, over the course of 8 tracks and a total run-time of nearly 75 minutes, present their sonic take on the recent divide of humans and the darkening political climate in Europe. Opening with "City" the duo sets a surprisingly dreamy, romantic and conciliatory tone especially for a background theme of such gravitas and importance before the subsequent cut "Not All History Is Preserved" brings forth a brooding and ominous Post-PostRock / Dark Ambient fusion shaped by inward looking desert guitars and airy, chiming bells building a subtle tension of almost Morricone'esque nature. Furthermore "Pooled" sees The Deep Bells embarking on a floating PopAmbient journey, riding calm and comforting pads emulating small waves forming on a quiet summers day accompanied by a neverending stream of ever so slightly changing guitar modulations whereas "Shelter", probably the most soothing of all compositions on this album, presents, once again, carefully arranged variations of one single main motif for the PopAmbient crowd and "Shout Shout" gets back to chiming tones, this time backed by eerie atmospheres and what seem to be reversed guitars over a total playtime of 15+ minutes. With "The Falls" the duo explores a rather sparse and somewhat rural arrangement pairing plucked guitar strings, tender pianos and caressing electronic textures, all falling together in a way sonically reminiscent of late and carefree summer evenings spent alongside one's loved ones, "Time Ticks" delivers a glimpse into an almost Folk x Desert Blues-infused dreamstate musically and therefore might be our personal favorite on this longplay outing before the closing cut that is "Times Of Change" drifts away in a rather nocturnal, solemn and minimalistic manner, serving a tender and carefully arranged conversation between corresponding, yet at times spine-tinglingly dissonant piano lines for a grande finale in Deep Listening Music. Lovely.