On Siren Section’s first album in 8 years, a gargantuan, 19-track odyssey, written over the course of 4 whole years, the Los Angeles duo bring us electronic anthems that hit hard with battering grooves and boundless energy.
Separation Team is the title of Siren Section’s latest album. The duo is composed of James Cumberland and John Dowling, two prolific songwriters who have been collaborating for more than 20 years, with a sound that blends post punk, dream pop, shoegaze, and electronica for a quite eclectic set of results.
We can witness the whole broadband within the span of this record’s first 15 minutes. After a pair of relentless electronic anthems, ‘Construct’ and ‘Bullet Train’, the duo quite efficiently pull back the brakes for the soft and airy ‘Solidarity’, bringing to their listeners the shoegaze part of the formula. The lengthy and winding 4th cut ‘Medicine’ also lies in the second category with ‘Solidarity’. With a sound that recalls iconic shoegazers Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, this long winding song is an achievement that blends the electronic elements very neatly with the duo’s trademark soft and murky songwriting.
‘Flinch’ is a showstopping piece of IDM that takes a sharp left turn. Presenting threatening synth stabs and unstoppable 808 beats on top of throbbing and droning sub bass, ‘Flinch’ is a classic sound whose lovers can just not get enough of. Brilliant. There is little variation along the piece’s 5 minute runtime, a trademark of dance music that lends the piece a very hypnotic feel. ‘Marker’ comes after a short, cloudy interlude, giving the album’s softest and plushiest offering up til this point. With its open-ended chord sequences and free time feel, ‘Marker’ is a precious point of respite in Separation Team’s relentless marathon.
Rock tendencies show up in the following ‘Dangerous To Know’. With its steady beat and more discernible melodies, the duo pull back on the shoegaze haziness for something that’s more direct and sweet. The massive and cinematic pairing of ‘Tritagonist’ 1 and 2 are massive and immersive electronic rock offerings that balance electronic mayhem with acoustic gentleness, with the second part being led by the album’s first acoustic guitar offering till this point in its runtime, just past its midpoint. The second part is properly progressive, gaining weight and momentum as it goes along, until it ends with a soft, patient climax that summons to mind the involved compositions of My Bloody Valentine.
12th cut ‘Deer Hunter’ is a showstopping and gentle, piano ballad that softens the punch of the earlier, battering ‘Minotaur’, and paves the way for ‘Glass Cannon’ of the album’s lead singles. This cut manages to remind me of Pink Floyd’s Division Bell-era compositions. Especially with its hushed baritone singing and optimistic chord sequences that are injected with a dose of potent melancholy. ‘Timeghost’ is perhaps the album’s most experimental cut to this point. With its hollered vocals and chromatic movements, this piece offers some of the album’s eeriest atmospheres.
Entering the album’s final legs with the syrupy and floating ‘Ritual’, Siren Section still manage to show new facets of their songwriting talents, this time with a pop-inspired chord progression, and a syncopated groove that prods the song along at a very leisurely and enjoyable pace. One of the album’s more accessible cuts. The duo follows with one more heartfelt piano ballad. The enigmatically titled ‘Some of this Means Everything’ has a cliche, moving chord progression, a slow and methodic pace, and prominent voice to accompany the shimmering piano chords. The album’s longest cut, the penultimate ‘Carry Through’, does a wonderful job just blending it all together. With stirring chord sequences, a present groove, prominent vocals with gripping melodies, and a lot of electronic wizardry in the mix, ‘Carry Through’ is an engaging and exciting offering that showcases the duo at the top of their game.
Closing the lengthy and eccentric journey of Separation Team with the lovely and melodic ‘Five Fifty Five’, Siren Section brings the journey to a bittersweet conclusion that leaves a lasting mark. Siren Section’s music and smart lyrical content display a pair of gifted artists whose visions coincide quite neatly on one another, bringing in harmony a litany of musical ideas that should normally not work together. But not only do Siren Section make it work, they also make from it something quite unique, personal, and unforgettable.
