Long Distance Calling – Trips
Long Distance Calling is back! Fans waited for three years for this unorthodox band to come out with something new and now it finally happened. ‘Trips’ are to be released on 29th of April on Inside Out Music. And oh my, what an experiment awaits. There are times, when particular band disconnects from its roots, from usual sound and traditions. Seems it was time for that to happen…
Those familiar with Long Distance Calling music know, that band explores guitars to its max, utilizes a lot of keys and piano sounds with rhythmic percussion. And while many call their style ‘post rock’, band itself prefers to just silently do their job without putting labels on it. In a press release, band says their approach is “…pushing the envelope, writing gripping songs and fulfilling a very intimate musical vision” and the album is “… our most daring and varied album yet”. It’s clear they decided not to follow their recipe for success and do the new album thinking out of the box. And truth be said – the album proves those points.
The main topic of it is ‘dreams and time travels’. The theme is being explored thoroughly throughout the album, raising questions of humans’ universe, humans’ dreams and possibilities of time travel. We begin with ‘Getaway’, a daring experiment with synth sounds taking lead throughout the song. You can’t really hear the usual guitars fans are so used to, with pleasing solo gem hidden somewhere in the end. One question appears, and it is “How wild will be the experiment?”. To answer that, following two songs, driving ‘Reconnect’ and peaceful ‘Rewind’, explore a whole new sound for the band and are decorated with vocals by Petter Carlsen. They are dynamic, but lyrical, full of symbiosis of both new and old approach.
The concept of using guest vocals is not new for the band, and this album holds quite an amount of songs, enabled with vocals. And, to prove that nothing is forgotten, next track, ‘Trauma’, is an totally instrumental piece, reminding everyone of the band’s past. It’s quite heavy-sounding, with beautiful leading progression and strong percussion part. And it’s being followed by a wonderful ‘Lines’, a track so catchy, that I can’t get it out of my head. ‘Lines’ was released as a single from this album and totally deserves the honor, being probably the most ‘whole package’ type of song. There is a feeling of completeness when it’s being played. A masterpiece.
As we move forward, more experiments follow. A spoken word track ‘Presence’ and instrumental ‘Momentum’ brings us back to good old sound of Long Distance Calling. Just to be reminded with track, called ‘Plans’, that this is new way of things, full of exploration and lyrical journey. The end is near and album erupts into 13 minutes of ‘Flux’, the closing track of the album, another reminder that nothing is forgotten. It’s an epic song to finalize the epic journey of this album.
(9/10, Inside Out Music)
