Aidan Baker & The Infant Cycle, Rural Sprawl (CDR Zhelezobeton)

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All Ontario tag-team effort as Toronto´s Aidan Baker and his hitherto lesser-known compatriot, The Infant Cycle (aka Jim DeJong of nearby Hamilton), generate and distress industrial-strength drones.

Rural Sprawl is the clever monicker chosen for this expanded version of a previous release called "Rural", which consisted of the two first tracks on the present disc.

Coming out of the speakers in waves, ”Summer” initiates proceedings with what could be described as a faux-field recording. Imagine the world from a close to the ground perspective, with mechanical crickets and frogs chirping and croaking in the wetlands and dragonflies zooming overhead. It´s summer alright but at dusk.

After a while, we are slowly lifted far above the rural landscape below, the quiet, looping beat tantalizingly almost out of earreach. ”Temperature Drop” is dreamy, swirling novas slowly organizing themelves into a repetitive, one-finger melody which Baker´s guitar eventually enjoins, soloing solemnly at a distance.

Several kind of unnecesary false starts until ”You Left Your Breath on My Window” gets serious as the two assemble an orchestral tidal wave gaining in size and velocity before dissapting surprisingly quickly into mere foam. ”Rights of Spring” is tremblling air over a trainyard of heavier background activity.

Nestled in a beautiful cover. An album of great texture.

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