Review: Rural Tapes - 'Inner Space Music' (Smuggler Music)

Without doubt one of the musical highlights of last year, if not THE highlight, was the debut album from Norway's Rural Tapes aka Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen. The eponymous album was a tour de force of genre-bending musicality; he artfully wove krautrock, lounge and jazz with some pastoral, blissful moments to create something rather special indeed. Now, here comes the tricky bit...how does a sophomore release measure up against such a majestic debut? The answer....exceptionally well! Mathisen and a very strong collection of musicians (including Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Terry Edwards) have made something very special indeed.

Opener 'Inner Space' begins with some squelches, warbles and a general melange of electronic noises before settling into an almost bossa nova rhythm. Some smooth jazz flute imbue it with an inate coolness while some flashes of eastern melody lend proceedings an exotic air. This is followed by 'Candystore' with its analogue, seventies feel a la Ghost Box. It sparkles in an evocative and somehow melancholic manner.

'Bossa Nova For The Contrails Of My Tears' is, as the title suggests, based on a Bossa Nova rhythm whilst a narrator regales us with tales of air travel. As a whole it is reminiscent of a seventies movie..bright and breezy with a darker underbelly.Similarly 'Waltz For The Living Dead' takes it cue from Cipriani, Ortolani et al.. another reminiscent of a movie but with a distinct Italian vibe. It has that smooth jazzyness that made those Italian soundtracks the masterpieces they were. This is majestic!

'Five'A'Side' is a short, melancholic cameo; once again harking back to the seventies and with a brooding presence but 'Listen' is something altogether more bucolic. It conjures up memories of hazy summer days as a child with it's softly chirping bird song and lilting melody..beautiful. 'Sea Urchins' is a drone based piece that is at once beautiful and sad, on first listen it struck me as being quite funereal but there is a beauty that lurks beneath the sombre veneer.

It is with 'Arkestra Piece For Hard Working Ants' that the album reaches its acme. Motorik rhythms and some exquisite jazz combine to produce something pretty damned awesome. It is worth the admission price on its own. It is an intoxicating opus that fades in and out, rises and falls but never loses its focus....masterful

'Music For Shadows To Follow' is a bit of an oddity, not that that is a bad thing...a repeating phrase on the tuba (I'm guessing). It doesn't really go anywhere but acts as a placeholder. The album is closed with 'Leaving Inner Space' and it is an absolute joy. Gamelan percussion with another rhythm straight from the Can handbook with a subtle sprinkling of jazz.

'Inner Space Music' is an absolute triumph! It is an album full to the brim with nostalgic nods to the past and yet is undoubtably of the here and now. Mathisen has taken disparate cues and influences and applied some sort of esoteric alchemical formula to produce an bodt of music that resonates with class and imagination. As an album it flows wonderfully, the aforementioned disparate influences meld seamlessly with each other to produce a suite of music that gladdens the heart and soul.

The album is released in November but pre-orders are live now ... it can be ordered here or here



Links:

Rural Tapes Bandcamp

Smuggler Music Website

Rural Tapes Facebook