Artist: Near Earth Orbit
Title: Trans Neptunian Objects
Genre: Space-Goth
Release Date: 9th October 2015
Label: Solar Lodge
Album Review
Cancel all appointments, lock the doors, close your eyes and give yourself over to the other-worldly mind-expanding sonic space-fuck of NEAR EARTH ORBIT. This wonderfully energetic project sees Ashley Deyour taking time out from WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW and hooking up with Artaud Seth of MERCIFUL NUNS, to create something that already exists in hints and flurries on the periphery of those bands but is fully realised here on ‘Trans Neptunian Objects’. You can throw yourself happily into all the surrounding guff – there’s messages from the future on the website folks! – and sink into the black glue of conspiracy theory, concept and cover-up if that’s your thing, but refreshingly, and surprisingly, the music here does absolutely all the work, and needs nothing from the outside.
At times, the scope of the sound is huge, a vast galaxy swirl of noise and colour, yet there are moments of serenity too, breathing spaces, glimpses of a distance too complex to comprehend. It’s almost a shame when the loose structures that make up the whole here organise themselves tightly and result in ‘a song’. ‘Planet X’ for example resembles something from the largely unloved NEPHILIM era of ‘Zoon’, and feels like a miss-fire here. But that aside, there’s consistency throughout the intrigue, and plenty of ideas to keep this thrillingly airborne. Opener ‘Jupiter Ignition’ is impressively grand as it informs us “we are not alone”, its cascading guitars then morphing into the dark tumble of ‘Kepler 186F’.
There’s a lightness and optimism to the spoken word passages of ‘Earth Research’, a feeling of floating calmly, adrift but happily under the control of some external force. Forming the centre-piece of ‘Trans Neptunian Objects’ it builds ferociously and relentlessly into ‘Ignition Started’ and is a breathlessly powerful piece of aural cinema. The title track follows, hurtling by on a tide of meteors, and ‘Pitch Black’ hangs gloriously on a sinister distorted bass line. The journey ends with ‘Jupiter Moon’, a scratchy, echo-filled and eerie swirl of synth and piano and voice, floating you away into nothingness. It’s terrifying, awe-inspiring and also strangely beautiful.
The best thing to do after listening to NEAR EARTH ORBIT is to allow yourself a similar hour of escapism as soon as possible. Cancel all appointments, lock the door, close your eyes. But get someone to check on you. Just to make sure you make it back…
Tracklist
01. Jupiter Ignition
02. Kepler 186F
03. Earth Research
04. Ignition Started
05. Trans Neptunian Objects
06. Planet X
07. Pitch Black
08. Jupiter Moon
Line-up
Artaud Seth
Ashley Dayour
Website
http://www.nearearthorbit.org/ / https://www.facebook.com/NearEarthOrbit
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
