This EP starts off with “Wheel”, and it’s just as colorful and massively vibrant as the rest of this duo’s material. There are a lot of very strange and foreign, almost alien sounding vocal snippets amongst the very breathtaking flutes and atmospheres. It’s very sweet and incredibly pleasant to listen to. But I do still feel at the same time how I felt with a lot of the tracks on the album Visible Cloaks released earlier this year. The duo’s ideas are charming and enjoyable, but not pushed nearly as far enough as they could be. And sadly, quite frankly things get a little repetitive. However, “Wheel” is still mighty pleasant to listen to. Now “Frame” on the other hand, while it’s just as airy and pleasant to listen to, comes off just so much more adventurous. I love just how fun and bouncy these rhythms are, and the vocal samples that pop in are just as alien but much more haunting. This is much more of what I wanted to hear from Visible Cloaks, to be honest. Here, they start off with a truly eerie and mysterious idea and flesh it out over its two and a half minute run-time. But most importantly, this one comes off so alive and constantly shifting so it doesn’t come off repetitive. “Frame” is exactly where I want to hear this duo. Then we have “Transient”, which is by far the most far out and most bizarre track here. I love the layered vocal effects and just how alien everything comes off. The instrumentals that follow are sweet and airy, and for the most part, are along the same lines as everything else we’ve seen here. But then we get this rather angelic release towards the end that leaves me stunned. “Transient” instantly goes from strange and other-worldly to immensely beautiful. Visible Cloaks are certainly on to something, and I love those strange, almost Tim Hecker sounding piano’s towards the end.
But sadly, because this EP is so short, a lot of these sounds sort of blend together a little. A few of the songs here actually get to the point where it’s tough to determine which one is which. For example, “Keys” sounds very similar to the opening track here “Wheel”. That’s not to say it’s bad though, and I do commend Visible Cloaks for remaining consistent and continuing to get more colorful and adventurous. But I just sort of can’t shake the feeling that these are all just leftovers from “Reassemblage”. There are some really cool moments, however, like that majestic release towards the end of this track. Now, on the other hand, “Lex” is the sort of looping, whirring electronic tune I wanted to hear right about now. This track, while it’s very strange and experimental, shows Visible Cloaks really mixing it up and coming off with this very mysterious and dark sound. I would love to hear more of this sound to be honest, with everything coming off so much more ominous. Towards the end of the tune, it sort of bounces back to the sounds of other tunes here. But still, “Lex” mixes up things really nicely. This EP finishes off with the massive “World”. It’s got a pretty icy, synthetic intro, but that’s to be expected. World music continues to be an absolutely massive influence on this duo, I would honestly love to hear them branch out into other regions of the world for ideas int he future. The ambient portions on this one, however, alongside the sound effects make “World” a very gratifying finale. Some of the other tunes here have been relaxing and sweet, but this is almost therapeutic and serene. It’s also easily the vastest tune here, seeming practically endless, and that’s not just because it’s 14 minutes long. It’s just so animated and without boundaries, and most importantly it’s constantly shifting and changing. “World” is easily one of the more interesting tunes here, and Visible Cloaks do a wonderful job of making it seem fresh in its entirety. I honestly wouldn’t mind them going for more tunes like this in the future.
Rating: 7.7/10
Give A Listen To: "Frame", "Transient", "World", "Lex"
Genre: Vaporwave / Electronic / Ambient / Experimental
Overall Thoughts: This is overall a solid EP from Visible Cloaks. If you’re into a lot of the material from their “Reassemblage” album, you’re most likely going to be into this. But at the same time, if you weren’t into that album, this isn’t going to make you a fan. There are a few moments still where I feel like Visible Cloaks need to challenge themselves more, like they eventually do on they EP’s closer “World”. But there are still a ton of really good ideas here, especially in some of those more ominous moments.
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