Ensemble Economique

One of two new releases from Brian Pyle (the other being 'Interval Signals'), Light that comes is a rich exploration of Ensemble Economique's range and power. With a palpable sense of the sublime throughout, the listener is guided through drones like the pillars and buttresses of a cathedral for a sombre new religion, into the sounds of the ocean (somehow elegiac), flute tones springing up in the fog like gravestones, and fallen kosmische. These are followed by the wonderfully odd 'As the Train Leaves Tonight,' a version of Spandau Ballet's 'True' produced from within the shadow universe, featuring crashing waves of reverb, staccato chords and tommy-gun drums. Similarly, 'Radiate Through Me' is a shoegazy torch song of sorts, sluggishly drifting along on beams of spectacular light. The brilliantly unique continuum between drone and pop traversed here makes 'Light That Comes' a key listen.