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Isolated experiences of the spirit, strolling in and out of traumatic and glorious scenes, engaged then abandoned, only being recalled in context of qualifying oneself or alignment with a cause. It's easier to recall those scenes quietly with icy breath. Experiences that glance over a ledge and require sifting through the knowing of things or at least that they exist immediately beyond a conversation, inside you. An uncomfortable state.
But, when the drugs stop working in your favor and the sun sets earlier and earlier, the darkness and cold start circling the hearth, looking to turn you into organic material, calcium, nitrogen, and magnesium. You’re left with yourself, a negative freedom. These songs were written to ward them (the cold and the dark) off in humility, telling them confessions that they’d rather not hear, asking for forgiveness that they’d rather not give. To get beyond the sugary headrush of self righteousness to gentle discussion and curiosity; there is not one criticism levied, only a bare knuckle brawl with not doing something.
Our take: Light Metal Age is a new project featuring Ian from the sadly departed Gen Pop, and fans of that band should definitely be interested. My favorite moments in Gen Pop’s music recalled the icy, serene pop of Wire’s second and third records, and Light Metal Age leans even further into that, but it’s a long way from homage as there are a lot of different sounds on this hefty 7-track EP. “What He’s Done” and “Weathervane,” for instance, have some of the stoned jangle of the first few Pavement albums, while “Oakland 2017” is a nine-minute Eno-esque synth meditation that carries so much feeling it almost feels religious. It’s clear, though, that Light Metal Age isn’t about sound and style so much as the songs themselves, and the promotional blurb for the tape focuses on the psychological and therapeutic motivations for these songs rather than the musical influences. Gen Pop fans should be sure not to miss this, but anyone with a taste for the arty underground sounds on labels like Post Present Medium and Cleta-Petra could be a potential fan.