'Around' by Thought Bubble

From the moment the female voice describes the opening statement, “The waves and the patterns are merging.” It would start things off with the album’s opener, The Waves. It becomes a disturbing nightmare that Chris Cordwell and Nick Raybould would create. It has this ‘80s video game-like structure from Super Mario Bros. 2 as you enter different parallels of the pyramids with these film-noir like atmospheres as the clock ticks rapidly.

Then, the powder keg becomes a fuming heat to increase the next track Rat Race. Nods to Roxy Music’s The Bogus Man and Bowie’s Earthling-era, it’s a freak-out like no other. Cordwell and Raybould would duke it out in a boxing ring punching each other between their instruments. Hay-wiring chaos at its best, it is a batshit composition that would keep you guessing until the end.

Fluctuate is a journey into the unknown. A chilled-out futuristic string-section wasteland that you’ve never seen before while Beatwave channels Devo’s Oh No! It’s Devo-era as they have their pumping iron muscles to get your blood flowing for Nick and Chris tipping their hats to the Spud patrol with a Vivaldi-like crossover.

Mobius Trip becomes a ladder-climbing composition for the duo. They climb each of the ladders that transform into various patterns by reaching to the top of the mountain with a challenging pace by going into a mid-fast tempo for the guitars to slide down in one section to another.

Devoider closes the album by leaving the hot temperature levels inside the jungle. Hallucinated nightmares come to life for Thought Bubble as if they teamed up with Ozric Tentacles and the Irrlicht-era from Klaus Schulze. It is a crazy re-arrangement as they take us into a lane filled with gigantic mushrooms waiting to be eaten for the rest of the month!

Thought Bubble’s ‘Around’ is one of the most mind-boggling debuts that will keep you guessing until the end. ‘Around’ will be talked about in the years to come in the roaring ‘20s. And I hope to hear more from Thought Bubble in the next adventure that awaits them.

Zachary Nathanson, November 2021

https://zacharynathanson.blogspot.com

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The record begins with the ominous and foreboding tones of ‘The Waves’. This is a tune “full of eastern promise”. This song has a slouched, downtempo pace, however, that allows room to showcase some stunning rhythmic work alongside some gloriously exotic keyboard textures. It recalls to me the Peace Orchestra album that Peter Kruder put out back in the 90’s. I’m not sure I could pay this track a higher compliment.

The pace picks up on ‘Beatwave’, a krautrock inspired, pedal to the metal freak out. Your attention is demanded right from the get go and is rewarded throughout. Synth strings give way to acid squelches and glitchy synth. Not to mention a cheeky ladies voice popping up from time to time.

There is a nod to Lemon Jelly in the intro to ‘Möbius Trip’. The spoken word intro describing the famous mobius strip being mirrored in the cyclical repetitions of the music. It builds and builds on that foundation, adding guitar and more spoken word making this a truly psychedelic experience.

‘Rat Race’ comes in all anxious and pounding. That feeling is amplified and skewed off on a number of themed tangents. From the tight, fractious percussion to the scattergun synth and samples, this shakes you from the psychedelic stupour of the previous track and slaps you about the face.

Throwing us another curveball is ‘Fluctuate’. This track is beautiful. Its chilled out floaty vibes carry you away and make you feel all warm. Even in the closing section where the tempo drops and the mood gets slightly darker, it still made me smile. A big smile! This is my album highlight!

We close on ‘Devoider’ a spaced out rock jam. This is a cosmic trip amongst the stars. The introduction of a fuzzed out guitar is a welcome new texture to their sonic pallate. It’s wonderful way to close out a much varied and interesting album.

Thought Bubble are clearly fans of the G-Stone and Compost records from the 90’s and they have taken that influence and built something new and unique with it. By playing with tempo and textures they bring us into their world and excite us with each new experience created. This was a very rewarding listen and one I will continue to enjoy.

STATIC SOUNDS CLUB September 2021

Electronica, analogue percussion and a voice.

No set style or genre. The music comes out in whatever form it wants.

Sometimes we invite friends to add elements.

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A couple of us were also in Glowpeople, once upon a time.

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