Dallas Acid - The Spiral Arm LP

Despite the name, Dallas Acid is an Austin based trio. Their latest offering 'The Spiral Arm, started life as a live performance piece, 'a soundtrack meant to accompany a visual journey through the cosmos.' And it's easy to imagine this. Spacey analogue synthscapes and quirky vintage coldness create an environment of retro futurism and the insignificance of man in the scale of the universe.

The albums title track is a journey. Even without visuals it's easy to imagine floating through the vast emptiness of space as swirling synths create a lonely sound. This track, and in fact all the tracks on the album are beautiful, yet terrifying, inducing thoughts of serenity, relaxation, isolation, loneliness and anxiety. Linda Beecrofts vocals add a voice that guides you on the journey, but you will not find warmth in her tones, it's distant and difficult to locate, it's beautiful, it is omnipresent.

'Vacker' is track two on the album and this track also features the same harrowing vocals, something that is a recurring theme throughout the album. This track is definitely the standout track on the album and its dub influences infused with retro sci-fi synth bloops and beeps create a blended track that gels well with the almost creepy, repetitive vocals

The shortest track on the album 'Circuit Jungle' is still just a bit too long, it would be much better suited as an intermission that lasted say a minute. The individual samples and sounds are great but it just doesn't flow right and the track seems disjointed from the rest of the album. The sounds seem to be mashed together in a way that I don't find pleasing and I find the track to be a confusing step in the journey... confusing and unnecessary.

'Zavana' follows next, this track holding a more psychedelic vibe. The main back bone of the album, the spacey cosmic sound is still prevalent but this track comes across as more organic than the others that preceed it. Shamanic percussion goes hand in hand with the dreamy vocals that seem to emniate like a spirit from the other side, whilst the main synth hook ties it all together with haunting atmospheric imagery. This track, in the perspective of it's original intention, sounds like exploring a ancient alien forest on a planet far away.

'I Fagelns Sang' is a deeply atmospheric track, a slowly building piece that adds layers of rich sound design in a way that just works. I can imagine sitting in a planetarium, looking up at the artificial stars and losing myself in this track. This, and in fact the whole album, makes me realise the vastness of the universe, it's a very spacious track that seems to travel endlessly through the vacuum of space.

There is beauty in 'Silk Rain' I just find it difficult to appreciate. The track to me is rather dull and repetitive. Certainly the drums are a beautiful aspect of the piece and the synthesised strings are quite delicate, but the rest of the synth sounds seem boring and over used, not just within the scope of the track, but the entire album too. It's hard to dislike it too much when you understand the effort that goes into analogue sound design, but this track just doesn't hit the spot for me.

The closing track is 'Emaljets Hav'. I always put a lot of pressure on the closing track of an album because it is the last sound we hear. It's what makes us want to return and repeat the whole journey, it's our reward at the end of someone's else's toil. The final track of 'The Spiral Arm' is a quality example of a closing track. The track has a nice, calming intro of deep ambient soundscapes that make way for nostalgic synth beeps that build up in an arpeggio. A thick bassline jostles with strings that give a feeling hopeless elation, this track again, has dub influences, though much more subtle than 'Vacker', this track also shares elements of post-rock which I think fits beautifully with the vocals, which carry the same airy heft as the other tracks in the album. 'Emaljets Hav' is not too explosive that you expect another track to follow, but it's not too slow and wound down that you feel like it doesn't stay true to the other tracks the album has to offer.

Overall the album is a bittersweet affair, beautifully haunting music that raises my anxiety levels and makes me feel insignificant. Don't let that put you off though, it does so in such a beautiful way, it makes you appreciate the universe. It is the soundtrack of the cosmos. Dallas Acid deserve to be the latest signing to the 'All Saints' label. The first signing in a few years, and they certainly deserve to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brian Eno. Though not their first rodeo, it's a great foundation for a group that have only existed for 4 years, and I suspect we will hear greater things from them in the future.

I rate the album a solid 7 out of 10

'The Spiral Arm' is available to buy here: