Review in Deruting Magazine (Spain) on 6.29.16
translated by the author, Maria Malacrida
I had the chance to listen to Solarminds’ latest release, and here are some brief lines about what i feel (“think” is too general) about it.
This album begins in an atmospheric, dense way, and nothing prepares us for the change in tone when the voice appears. In its instrumental moment, “Things I’ve Done (For You God)” is almost operatic, while the voice gives it a more lo-fi and grunge tone that contrasts nicely.It seems to me that there is a story and something to discover behind each song and each title. solarminds takes us on an introspective, deep journey, with much to experience. The songs are tangible, the music full of texture. I believe a second listen -with headphones- is a must.
About Intimate Portraits and Ambient Gestures, composer Chris Miner says: the album includes fragments of field recordings obtained while on a trip to India. One of the themes that runs through this album is that love and morality are very complex, and not always black and white.
The music in “39 Days”, the second song, begins almost as in a whisper… It is not difficult to imagine the sound of the wind, a faraway voice… The same that right away begins to sing. We can’t just use the singer-songwriter label, there is more production here, the voice appears to sound between intimate and sinister, a mix of Love and Rockets, Gavin Friday and Robyn Hitchcock? but there is more…
In third place, “Grit in Your Teeth (Or, Walking Through the Desert Searching for a Seashell)”, which starts off with a drone-like intro, on to a meditative instrumental journey. a soundscape proper, with some electro and some primal rhythms.
“I’ve Let My Suffering Define My Identity for Too Long” follows, with a very special and original rhythm. Miner explains that the song deals with what it means to hold on to an identity, maybe because of force of habit, but to finally realize that there are parts of the self that -despite being missed- must be let go.
The album concludes with the heartrending “Songs You Sing to Me” and -quoting Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips in its title- with the ethereal and enveloping “Just Do the Maximum and Try to Feel Things”.
I would like to thank Chris Miner for his help and generosity. For more information about solarminds, readers can visit Mind Altering Records’ website – https://mindalteringrecords.com