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9/04/2015

Max Fotheringham – Perikope (2013)




/Indie rock, Post-rock, Jazz rock, Slowcore, Ambient pop, Indietronica, Indie folk, Alternative rock, Art rock, Singer-songwriter, Folk indie/

Comment: Perikope was bundled 25 months after then Belgium-residing musician Max Fotheringham`s debut issue In All Amber (Higher Living Records). By listening to the first half of the album silent chugging might remind of A Sea And Cake`s subtle aesthetics of being somewhere between sublime indie pop and restrained post-rock and jazz rock progressions where electronic undercurrents are a little pushed backwards but still clearly presented in the blend. On the other side, we should not underestimate the influence of the so-called Duyster movement (De Portables, Styrofoam, Wixel, The Go Find, Sweek etc) in Belgium (where artists played indie music with strong influences by way of electronica, IDM and post-rock). Thirdly, the release is obviously inspired by dreamy slowcore artists (Galaxy 500, Arab Strap, Barzin, True Widow) either because MF apparently likes silence more than noise. Of course, Fotheringham`s outing might be more bedroom studio oriented because of having revealed more warming clumsiness by left and right side. However, later on, some more diverse and drowsy compositions become to appear – from piano driven ambient pop where one can perceive the artist to express soulful emotions through his voice and accentuation. At times he exploits found sounds to fill in the album with more space and intimate corners. Later on, Max Fotheringham left Belgium and arrived at Australia to form a new project entitled Amber Isles. This 10-track silent yet lightsome issue is a part of the Higher Living Records.