Brian Eno stated in the liner notes for 1978’s Music for Airports that he set out to make music that would “accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”
While “ignorable” is unkind, the sentiment could be applied to Floating Points’s new album, Crush. Hold producer Sam Shepherd’s work at arm’s length and the electronica might seem calculated, even cold. But grip it close, with your mind empty and headphones on full blast. It comes alive.
Last Bloom is a glitchy Aphex Twin-esque soundscape, with musical ideas assembling like falling blocks in Tetris. At other times Crush is packed with life: opening track Falaise begins with an orchestral flourish, the soft strings counterpointed with the rest of the album’s artfully synthetic production. Anasickmodular is the album in a microcosm, beautifully utilising electronic textures.
Tracks such as thunderous LesAlpx aim for the dancefloor but wherever Crush is listened to — in a club, on the night bus home, or yes, an airport — there’s plenty to discover, so long as you’re willing to delve in deep enough.
