When a massive wave of Merzbow-like noise comes blaring out of your speakers once the needle hits the record on "Returnal," the new Oneohtrix Point Never, you wouldn't be blamed for checking the label to make sure that what you were listening to was indeed OPN. Did Editions Mego fuck up distribution and accidentally put some new Kevin Drumm or Prurient release in the packaging? What the hell is going on here?
Five minutes after the initial blast of "Nil Admirari" and what is likely the utter confusion of unsuspecting listeners, familiar sounds begin to emerge. Spacious 70s- infected drones replace brutal sound terrorism in what has to be the most jarring juxtaposition of experimental styles this year. Last year OPN released three albums ("Betrayed In The Octagon," "Zones Without People," and "Russian Mind") of electronic soundscapes heavily inspired by 70s progressive electronic artists ranging from Tangerine Dream and Cluster to horror soundtrack maestros Goblin and John Carpenter. What set OPN apart from similar retro-electronic artist was the humanity and intelligence of the music. These were albums that easily could have acted as an alternate soundtrack for Andrei Tarkovsky films.
"Returnal" finds OPN, a/k/a Daniel Lopatin, looking beyond 70s and 80s retro-futurism to other forms of experimental music for inspiration. While tracks "Describing Bodies" and "Stress Waves" sound similar to OPN's earlier work, lulling listeners into thinking "Nil Admirari" was some sort of fluke, or a statement about noise as a genre, title track "Returnal" provides yet another unexpected turn - vocals. Yet, it isn't even the addition of vocals that draws attention to the titular track, instead it is the pitch perfect combination of ambient IDM with processed harmonized vocals (which bring to mind Fever Ray) that propels the track to the foreground. This is a song that threatens to become a single. All it is really missing is a beat.
"Pelham Island Road" also eschews 70s experimental music in favor of late 90s/early 00s IDM. The piece sounds like the best Boards of Canada song never made. Lopatin has discussed his love of early Warp artist like Aphex Twin, but that influence has never been as apparent as it is on "Pelham Island." Yet, like any OPN song, while there are obvious points of reference at work throughout the music, Lopatin's own talent and personality individualizes each track, making them much more than a sum of their influences. In many ways the strength of OPN's music is that it actually is what you always wanted the artists who have influenced him to sound like, but never did.
"Where Does Time Go" is the first song that really combines a lot of the varying influences and styles at work on "Returnal." Its synthesizer arpeggio is reminiscent of 70s Kosmische music, but the steady drones throughout call to mind the more graceful moments of Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works." It's a wonderful piece of music and one that even with a six-minute running time leaves you wanting more. "Ouroboros" is the album's most delicate piece. Gentle waves of sound call to mind dust particles caught in sunlight. The track is the album's shortest, but stands out due to it's beauty. "Preyouandi" brings the album to a close with another surprise turn. The piece sounds like Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project sped up. Percussive effects phase in and out of the track, including a breakbeat. Yeah, a goddamned breakbeat. It's yet another WTF? moment on an album full of them.
"Returnal" is, in many ways, a transition album for OPN. Unlike previous records there is not one consistent sound at play here. This is Lopatin trying on different hats and seeing what fits best. For the most part he succeeds in drawing together so many disparate forms of experimental music under one roof, but admittedly some of his adventures in sound work better than others. I'm not sure he is cut out for noise or anything involving break beats, but his mixture of Kosmische with ambient IDM is definitely a winning combination and one that Lopatin pours heart and soul into. In the end, as satisfying as "Returnal" is, it feels a bit like a sampling of bigger and better things to come.
"Returnal"
"Pelham Island Road"
"Where Does Time Go"
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