Blank Tape

Atmospheric Leeds-based duo Worriedaboutsatan have been on the scene for some time now, traversing a multitude of genres in their compositions, from IDM and glitch to techno and post-rock. Blank Tape is their third full-length effort. It's an impressive piece of work, composed of captivating soundscapes, synthesized bass, forlorn vocals, and beautiful, burgeoning electronic distortion. Gavin Miller and Tom Ragsdale have been experts at illustrating anxiety, contempt, fear, and mystery with a myriad of sounds in their past work. And this one does not let up on that front. Second track "The Violent Sequence" is composed of a pronounced techno bass drum alongside mechanical hi-hats and swaying, synthesized melodies, ultimately feeling like a more relaxed version of "Escape Velocity" by the Chemical Brothers, while "The Tower and the Steward" brings together arpeggiated synth chords, wavy ambience, and wonderfully pronounced ethereal bass notes. Featured guests on the album also deliver nicely. Vincent Cavanagh's (of Anathema) Apparat-esque vocals sit atop a magnetic and intoxicating soundscape, with segmented vocal samples floating around the mix, while "Lament" features a brilliant vocal performance by Sinead McMillan of Bristol-based outfit Face + Heel. The album succeeds in its equal measure of accessible, club-like tracks with rigid percussion structures and sweltering melodies, while its other half is made up of intangible soundscapes. A standout track that manages to combine both is "Forward Into Night." Delivering haunting, eerie ambience while distant, rumbling notes increase with volume and unease, the track eventually becomes a languid yet persevering electro club piece. Reverb is used extremely effectively in this album. Everything layers wonderfully, building toward magnetic crescendos. This is nowhere more effectively exemplified than on the album’s title track, which is a surefire highlight. It’s a sweltering, beautifully composed ambient piece that begins with a swaying white noise sound that echoes relentlessly, like waves upon a shore or a coin slowing down as it spins among some rich reverb before deep bass drums and glockenspiels creep in while distant brass and strings adorn the rest of the mix, finally segueing into field recordings of birds singing. Blank Tape is a great piece of work that draws the listener in, delivering a wonderfully detailed sonic palette that dips in and out of the ethereal and the euphoric.