Sunday, December 1, 2019

Marconi Union: Dead Air review

I suspect that most people who have heard of Marconi Union first heard of them when one of their earlier tracks, Weightless (2012), was declared 'the most relaxing music of all'; my ears, though, were opened by the band's 2016 album, Ghost Stations, which is glorious. Dead Air, however, isn't like those previous masterpieces. 

I loved Ghost Stations for a variety of reasons, not all of them musical. For example, the idea of ghost stations, places that the train passes through but where no-one gets on or off, is a real part of my own personal history. Firstly there is the classic poem, Adlestropby Edward Thomas, that describes such a station; but, as a Londoner, I know that there are ghost stations on the underground. I always found passing through those stations fascinating. And of course train rhythms are in my blood. But then I also loved the drums on that album, which in places thunder and motor like a track from African deep House. Naturally, I began looking forward to MU's next release. 

In the interim, the band released live remixes of Tokyo, which I rather liked, but Dead Air is the first proper album since Ghost Stations.

Was it worth the wait? Yes, it's a gem. But... there are no drums. 

This new album resonates in different ways and hooks into different memories. There are a few train rhythms, yes, but mostly Dead Air reminds me of Bowie's Berlin work with Eno, especially side 2 of Heroes. Overall, it's a pastoral cityscape, a kind of urban ghostland, one where you can explore inner-city shopping malls when everyone has gone home. Dead Air is moody, brooding and deeply satisfying; but there are no drums. 


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