An Orchestrated Impulse
Self-Released, 2019
8/10
Listen to An Orchestrated Impulse
The new project of Matt Pond and Chris Hansen, who have collaborated on many records under Matt Pond PA, as An Orchestrated Impulse the pair are aligned with visual artist Eva Magill-Oliver as 12 paintings, 12 instrumentals and 12 keys are all explored with much care and detail.
“Chroma” starts the listen with calm keys and a light ambience that simmers in bare beauty, and “March” follows with a haunting, cinematic quality where mood is key.
An entirely vocal-less affair as intricate sound manipulation defines the listen, some faint traces of Pond’s indie-rock past are evident on “Stillness”. Mostly, though, it’s an artistic and experimental outing, as the nature-esque feeling of “Pink Waves” displays guitars and synth that are balanced profoundly, while the playful and sonically adventurous “Awosting” pushes and pulls with gorgeous instrumentation.
Though it’s a far cry from Pond’s many glorious, sing-along, indie-pop records, it’s certainly no less impactful in its meditative, calming and imaginative delivery.
Travels well with: El Ten Eleven- Transitions; The Royal Arctic Institute- Accidental Achievement