Auburn Lull
Regions Less Parallel: Early Works and Rarities 1996-2004
Darla

It's strange to find this Auburn Lull compilation of non-album tracks - they've only released two albums: the peerless Alone I Admire, and last year's excellent Cast from the Platform. So why collect these songs together at such an early stage?

I think the key is that Auburn Lull work slowly and meticulously to create a totally immersive soundworld, so it's useful at so early a stage in their career to trace the trajectory between their early non-album releases, and the tracks from Alone and Platform that didn't make the final cut.

For those unfamiliar with Auburn Lull's music, it can broadly be described as 'shoegaze' or 'dream pop', but is further imbued with an almost religious reverence for the power of reverb: all of their sounds are coated in multiple layers of gorgeous resonance. It's an awe-inspiring sound, enough to send shivers up your spine.

The overall impression with Regions Less Parallel is that Auburn Lull had a pretty good idea of how they wanted to sound from the very start of making music together. Although nothing here is quite as lush or moving as any of their album cuts, the slightly sketchy nature of these songs allows you to peep through the cracks of their working method and begin to understand exactly how they pile on the sound in such a powerful way.

There are a lot of synth washes and drum machine beats reminiscent of early ambient Aphex Twin. You can hear guitars sounding more like guitars than choirs of angels. Sean Heenan's voice is more tentative and buried in the mix. The melodies and chord progressions are more sophisticated as the more recent tracks unfold.

I find it very exciting to hear these tracks as I'm a massive Auburn Lull fan. I implore any Luna Kafé readers who haven't heard their music to seek the albums out immediately, and if you like what you hear - and I'm confident you will - perhaps you'll find this compilation of interest.

Copyright © 2005 Tim Clarke