While the music on the new album from marucoporoporo was originally composed for an art installation, the release works as a cohesive listen. Conceive the Sea touches on styles that earn labels like dream-pop, and garner adjectives like "ethereal", but the compositions here stand on their own terms as ones to invite contemplation and even mediatative self-reflection.
The layered vocals of "Cycle of Love" recall for me the late period Cocteau Twins material, where ambience took precedence, even as "From a Distance" seems a cousin of certain instrumental passages on the first This Mortal Coil offering. The compositions of marucoporoporo are, despite those obvious points of reference, resiliently iconoclastic. The Japanese musician is operating in her own universe here, though there are faint similarities to the artists I've mentioned, as well as recently unearthed tape experiments by His Names is Alive.
Conceive the Sea has a spaciousness about it that is oddly compelling. So simple at times, the music here has a certain melodic strength that elevates it beyond simply that of minimalism. There are more forceful flashes on "Core", among other pieces here, but it is closer "Reminiscence" which seems most memorable. Even as the track nearly loses itself in its own wispy effortlessness, it does so with a gentle grace that renders this a stronger effort than others doing material in this genre.
Conceive The Sea by marucoporoporo is out now via FLAU, as well as on Bandcamp.
[Photo: FLAU]