Modesty and reticence may be admirable traits in a person. But in music, they are mostly a sure-fire recipe for mediocrity. Well aware of this equation, London-based fourpiece Kontakte have made grand gestures and big ambitions the foundation of their oeuvre. Following in the footsteps of an already anything but shy debut, Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies, their second full-length We Move Through Negative Spaces marks another progression for the band: Yet more epic in its architecture, even more varied in its stylistic outreach, more daring in its arrangements, more ecstatic in its moments of blissful euphoria and more forlorn in its instances of sweet melancholia, it maximises the quartet’s sound and scope in every possible way: Pieces like proudly triumphant opener „Astralagus“ as well as a two-part, fifteen-minute closing suite composed of „Every Passing Hour“ and „The Ocean Between You and Me“, are inspired as much by the dynamics and emotional catharsis of rock as by forces of nature: Howling walls of stormy distortion, the burning brightness of shimmering harmonics and cooling waves of consoling harmonies combine into a work that is sure to leave no one cold – and many feverishly aroused. At the same time, the album marks a gradual shift in Kontakte’s stylistic outreach. While Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies was still indebted to the aesthetics of Krautrock, the title to standout-piece „Motorik“ openly referencing the genre’s emphasis on hypnotic grooves and slow-simmering rhythmical propulsion, for example, We Move Through Negative Spaces offers the highly personal blend of a Post Rock band driven by stuttering elecronic beats and the finely nuanced sensibilities of a neoclassical ensemble – with befriended violinist Brigid McCafferty adding timbral richness on select instances. The general impression of the album is therefore one of a work of change, and it is further reinforced by the inclusion of two pieces written by former member Paul Burton, thereby linking past, present and future of the band in an intriguing fashion. That is a challenging proposition for sure – but Kontakte would undoubtedly not have it any other way.
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