I knew of Decoder Ring through the 2004 film Somersault. The film starred Abbie Cornish as a runaway teen who fends for herself as she finds work at a ski resort. I thought the soundtrack was beautiful and the film hit me at the time as it was about finding your place in the world when you are an adult but you don't feel ready. I used to listen to the soundtrack all the time back in the day but kinda forgot about it over time.
I had listened to the album on YouTube on occasion but never had the album in CD. I knew of their 2CD follow-up They Blind the Stars, and the Wild Team as I owned it in mp3 format on my old Sanza Clip. I bought the album in Cambodia whilst on my travels and it accompanied me as I travelled across the world over the course of 6 months. I loved it as it was epic is scope and had an expansive, cinematic post-rock sound. It was an album I immersed myself in, luxuriating in its vast sonic landscapes and going on a journey that was both emotionally resonant and deeply atmospheric.
I re-listened to the album for the first time in about 15 years and these are my thought on the tracks:
Beat the Twilight- starts with a wonderful train type beat before an airy rhythm kicks in. The drum beat is wonderful and driving. A great start.
They Blind the Stars, and the Wild Team- like a music box with soft woodwinds before an electric guitar and rhythmic drums kick in. The finger picking guitar and builds towards a crescendo.
Charlotte Rampling- sharp arpeggios starts and remain across the piece.
And the Grass Will Grow Over Your Cities- starts with discordant strings and a bongo sound and is added upon with a sinister theme which adds mystery to the piece. An electric guitar comes in and wails over discordant sounds before giving way to calming drums, cymbals and gentle keyboard sounds. It ends will a stunning guitar solo that repeats in a shimmering way.
Happy Place- it starts off slow and melodic and remains that way, feeling calm and gentle.
100 Suns- this is a contemplative piece with a bassy undertone covering a high electric guitar arpeggios. The bass takes over and dominates the piece in the end.
Point No Point- this starts off with a distinctly more mellow slow jazz vibe and had me thinking of the Oxenfree soundtrack by Disasterpiece, especially with the strange noises that wend their way into the background.
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom- this is a conventional track in that it starts off clear and breezy and remains that way with lots of rhythmic guitars, drums and keyboard.
Astronaut Farewell Blues- it starts off with high pitched beeping like sounds before a mellow drum beat and shimmering piano line hits complemented with a bass guitar. The yearning sounds kick in with the glockenspiel and make the whole piece wistful.
CD 2 is more ambient and difficult to describe as it is a more ambient piece that wends and winds its way through the journey.
Same Old Paradise- eerie tones sends it's way through deep foreboding bass that pulsates.
The Horse and the Hand Grenade- the music feels like an intimate soundtrack, either tracking a journey of self-discovery of an individual or the sci-fi film epic loneliness shown in the likes of Interstellar or videogames with the scope and ideas of No Man's Sky or Jett: The Far Shore.
All the Streams Have Little Glitches in Them and The Inland Sea are both calm meditative pieces.
If I had to describe the album I would say airy, wondrous, shoe-gazey, wistful, shimmering and dreamy. In parts it reminds me of Odesza, Jon Hopkins, Burial, Nils Frahms, and Jim Guthrie with its mellow vibe and feel. When I first heard the album, I imagine that as a fan of Jarre, Wakeman, Oldfield and 90s trance it would have been right up my street.
Even with 15 years passing since I probably last listened to this album, I appreciate it and admire the ambition and scope of what it was trying to do. I would have loved to have seen them live but they have been on hiatus since 2009 so there's a slim chance of that happening. It's a shame as I think with the prevalence of the Internet, they could find their tribe and do really well in a live setting.
LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East
LINK- Utopia for Realists- Book Review
LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art
LINK- Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties- Book Review (and Some Thoughts)