Four tracks of melodic meditative, soothing, comforting Ambient-Shoegaze from what can be called a supergroup of the St Petersburg scene.
The cover of the album says it all with its pink mist hovering over a darker ground with electric static cutting through. This sense of reflective ethereal tranquility is the essence of the album. The enthralling melodic Ambient music emanates from Andrey Novozhilov´s guitar effects aligned with the artistic input of Tim Yusupov on the drums, Michail Kurochkin’s bass and the vocals by Vladimir Frith. The names sound familiar? Yes, they should be as these musicians play in TRNA, Somn, Olhava, Cliff Ruin, RYE to name some. And they come together in Novozhilov´s sonics to make an album that is as visionary as it is beautiful. Guitarist Andrey Novozhilov of TRNA and Olhava has been releasing demos under the moniker Reverb On Repeat for a couple of years. With these releases, he has repeatedly displayed that he seems to have a bottomless well from which to pull up mesmerizing melodies no matter whether it is dense emotional Atmospheric Black Metal or as on this album, glimmering Shoegaze and Ambient.
Novozhilov has been the sole musician on the demos, but here he has gathered what must be seen as a supergroup stemming from the St. Petersburg scene. Michail Kurochkin has, as usual, mixed the album to perfection. As a producer and mixer, he has his hands on the levers of many bands inside the scene and outside (the wonderful album Seasons of Silence by US-based Vodoem is just anbother example). With Reverb on Repeat he also picks up the bass and joins the other musicians to realize Andrey’s musical visions.
You find reverb, echoes, and delays to conjure the maximum out of the melodies that shape the musical flow and to underline the meaning of the album’s title, Жить which translates to Live. The track ”Мемантин” lifts your spirit from the melodic, crystal clear, enthrallingly echoing guitar surrounded by light and shimmering sounds. The rhythm section follows with a sedated pace, like walking on soft meadows on a sunny summer day. The relaxed atmosphere is underlined by the vocals immersed in echoing effects. The sparkling music pans out around the vocals giving a sense of wide-open spaces as the melody is developed carefully. It is dreamy and floats effortlessly as it widens more and more. The rhythm section provides the beat and leisurely paces along to the glistening sound that emanates from the guitar sounds. The way the vocals are orchestrated with echoes and harmonies turns it into an instrument in itself as the music surges into a crescendo of soothing white noise blocking out jarring noises and enchanting you in a contemplative state as the space the music exists in expands.
This album is white noise through and through, letting you meditate and flow to the music´s reflective mode as the next track begins with wide spawning guitar sounds that lift it all into a captive crescendo that drifts above the drums and the soft low-end bass. The sonics are undulating and embracing the gentle and indistinctly harmonizing vocals rising in the vast translucent sounds as it flows at a dreamy pace underlined by drums and bass. The track´s named ”Розовые Сны” which, if Google Translate is to believed translates to ”Pink Dreams” thus perfectly reflects the cover designed by drummer Tim Yusupov.
The mellow opening of ”Башни” with low-tuned bass and drums feels like a nod to the Twin Peaks soundtrack. The bass forms a melody, the drums hold a steady pace and the sounds from the guitars make up the lyrical atmosphere emanating from the music. It is meditative as the vocals harmonize with the tranquil mood of music which flows until it gives way to happy children playing and laughing to the sound of floating Ambient noises embracing them. Then the music surges back to the relaxing pace with vast reaching melodic Ambient soundscapes until it fades away.
The album closer is called ”Нерест” and opens with some gleaming Ambient before fast and diverse drums appear to push for a more hurried pace than earlier on the album. It is followed by a melodic bass before the drums start engaging to almost perform a drum solo in the vast sonics with the fast grooves from the bass. The flow changes direction to a slower pace from the drums and vocals appear amid the liquified music introducing a melodic theme. The drums are variable and wide-reaching and morph into blast beats as the Ambient music surges further upwards. It is intense, yearning, and emotional before it fades away.
As with other releases from these musicians, this album is extremely layered and you discover new things and hidden corners with floating, surging, and fusing sounds with each listen. Not long after the release of the harsh beauty of Olhava´s Sacrifice, Novozhilov and Yusupov have teamed up with fellow visionary musicians and release an album immersed in ethereal beauty. Quite an effort with the state our corner of the world is in.
