Sometimes music can crack through the impenetrable cerebral mist and provide a blast of heat to the coldest hearts. And sometimes that music actually is the gust of warmth. Other times, the music is the mist. The ambient frosty immensity of Transitional is a bit of hot and cold, indeterminately blowing as it sees fit as though a slave to its own elements.
The new project of Kevin Laska from Novatron and Dave Cochrane from Jesu, Transitional is a sonic mugging that lies in the midst of ambient electronica, noise, and drone.
With a few Reznor-inspired moments and a lot of shadowy tones, Transitional’s debut, Nothing Real Nothing Absent, is an engaging piece of music. Laska and Cochrane’s project is really all about texture and movement, as cascading walls of sound move in and out providing more of an environment than an omnipresent fore.
There are moments when the remote prototype is broken down, of course. The submissive and tranquil surge gives way to a mesmeric and idyllic dissonance on “This Paradise, Pt. 1,” but speedily dissipates back into a tumble of sound by the time it reaches its second portion.
The magnificence of Nothing Real Nothing Absent lies in the miasma between the disproportions. Electronic ambience, exploratory bass, and misshapen guitar coalesce in responsive layers.
“Nowhere Shining” starts the album off with a mounting deluge of electronic ecstasy, roaring up and down like intensifying waves. It truly is a striking experience, particularly at full volume on a quality sound system. The introduction of guitar distortion is like an approaching object in the cerulean water, giving fangs to the nameless and providing a sense of trepidation and concern. The song’s journey heads from shores of calm to a diabolical hunt through some darkening caverns, but it never loses its steam or its weird splendour.
Other tracks take similar streets, unfolding before the listener like a discovery waiting to be explored. “Fractured” calls up visions of rasping demonic equipment, while the industrialized chew of “Lustless” certainly earns its title with its petulant robotic vocals.
Nothing Real Nothing Absent is an elaborate drone/ambient/electronica album. The cautious instrumentations of Laska and Cochrane are evocative, diverse, and oddly beautiful. Transitional is sure to be a powerhouse in the world of mood music and I’m looking forward to more from this gifted duo.
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