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CD
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META 031CD
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2012 release. The 15-track CD brings together collaborations with The Soft Moon (the post-punk psychedelia of the title-track); Gazelle Twin (including the strikingly beautiful "Changelings"); New York duo Xeno & Oaklander; Moog maverick Tara Busch and Ghostly International's Matthew Dear, plus a Pink Floyd cover and some John Foxx/Benge material. This includes the rich analog glow of "Walk" and apocalyptic ballad "Only Lovers Left Alive." Meanwhile, regular Maths live band member Hannah Peel plays violin on "Neon Vertigo" and "My Town." Evidence is John Foxx and the Maths' most atmospheric and darkly percussive album so far -- built around stark, late-night rhythms. The ambient spaces in the music allow for experiments with textures and mood, with dreamlike echoes of Massive Attack, dub (in spirit not pastiche), Dead Can Dance, and the ultra-introspective Japan. The edgy beats of the opening track "Personal Magnetism" are followed by "Evidence," featuring The Soft Moon's Luis Vasquez. The slow, minimalist "That Sudden Switch" takes the European art-movie approach of Xeno & Oaklander and re-invents it as post-dub electronic pop. "Talk (Beneath Your Dreams)" features US electronic artist Matthew Dear taking the role of the sleeper as a conversation is held in a dream. It's a chilly, nightmarish track but like much of this album it has motion -- Dear adding new techno rhythms as well as a Bowie-esque vocal in the final verses. "Neon Vertigo" furthers the noir tension with massive bass sounds and "space violin" from Hannah Peel, while "Changelings" is in many ways the centerpiece of the album. Originally written and recorded by Gazelle Twin, "Changelings" retains only her voice as The Maths rebuild it completely from scratch. It's arguably one of Benge's finest moments in the studio so far, while John Foxx's reverb-drenched backing vocals complete this stunning, end-of-the-world song. "A Falling Star" is the reverse of "Changelings" -- this time it's a John Foxx/Benge track reworked by Gazelle Twin. In this context, the song becomes an icy but epic ballad, full of siren vocals and a sense of release as it stretches into the long, elegant fadeout. In fact, "A Falling Star" does signal a change in the album as the mood evolves into something more reflective. This final section climaxes with the electronic harp music of "Myriads" and the last song, "Only Lovers Left Alive" -- a pretty melody found on an old discarded reel-to-reel; nostalgic, the sound of memory and tape creating one of the album's most moving tracks.
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