Album Review: Lords of the Drift – The Arecibo Message (Stay Gold Records)

The newly formed drone group Lords of the Drift will release their cosmic debut album, The Arecibo Message, on November 20th with Stay Gold Records. Consisting of guitarist Tomo Milicevic, guitarist Tim Showalter (Strand of Oaks), guitarist/keyboardist Arjan Miranda (Black Mountain, S.T.R.E.E.T.S) and bassist David Bason (Barfbag, War Orphan), Lords of the Drift take listeners on a celestial journey.

The Arecibo Message is a nod to the 1974 interstellar radio message carrying basic information about humanity and Earth sent to globular star cluster M13. The record consists of one-track clocking in at just under 30 minutes with three acts.

Commenting on the band’s formation and musical direction Showalter says:

Lords of the Drift represents four people getting together to find a language to describe the infinitesimal and eternal. There is a sense of comfort that comes from facing head on the overwhelming nature of existence.

Bason adds:

We were all big fans of Earth 2. We wanted to make a record with the same basic 3 movement structure that left you feeling like you’re levitating once you got through the whole thing. Arjan did a really good job of getting that across in the mix.

If you’re thinking “this sounds infinitely fascinating’, you’re not wrong. Although you probably must have a penchant for drone to really appreciate the cold drift that is this effort. Turn off all the lights, turn off all the electronics, draw the blinds and put some headphones on. Immerse yourself in this record, it’s the only way to fully experience it.

It might be split into separate acts but again, it’s to be experienced as one complete thing. Only then can you fully grasp the maddening noise that emanates throughout. The way in which Act 1 – Earthmakers builds the volume of rippling noise upwards, as though celestial giants have come into contact. This is the sound of their separate energies causing friction and it is mind-bending to hear.

Then just as it seems like it’s getting too much, it passes, and a sort of peace descends upon the mind. Act 2 – Geomancy, a wide and open expanse presents itself and the feeling of witnessing something never seen before, grows.

Such a thing expands and expands into Act 3 – The Golden Ratio where all the mustered energy begins to erupt into new life. Capturing the imagination, the sounds create visions of colour that are blinding but impossible to turn away from. This is the future, where technology beyond human comprehension is born.

Truly unbelievable stuff.

Lords of the Drift – The Arecibo Message Full Track Listing:

Act 1 – Earthmakers (0:00 – 11:30)
Act 2 – Geomancy (11:30 – 16:45)
Act 3 – The Golden Ratio (16:45 – 29:02)

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