Album Review :: Soft Walls - No Time

Soft Walls

No Time

July 29 2014 (Trouble In Mind)

9/10

Words: Linn Branson

In his guise as Soft Walls, Faux Discx label honcho and one-fourth of Cold Pumas, Dan Reeves also manages to add a further string to his already impressive bow. And in this follow-up to his 2012 album, Reeves has on this occasion, with the aid of an 8-track and an idea of creating a collection of songs that are interwoven, achieved an output of ten songs with the crux of it being: time.

'No Time' is time itself: the passing of, reflecting on, and what should, and what is, done with it; and the perhaps often unspoken fear within all of us once we get past a certain age, of where it went. Reeves apparently spent a copious amount of his own time in writing, re-writing, then rehearsing, re-rehearsing before finally recording - and no doubt putting in as much painstaking effort there as well, and re-recording the re-records - the final work; aided and abetted by MJ of Hookworms, who took on mixing duties.

Anyone familiar with Reeves' work - both his own with Pumas, as well as much that is put out under the Faux Discx banner - will be aware of the propensity towards elongated psych drone-fests, that meld hypnotic rhythms with propulsive motorik beats and lo-fi submerged vocals. And should anyone be expecting an uncharacteristic diversion from that here, they would be not only be on a completely different course, but one that would possibly have taken the wrong fork in the road.

Opener 'Won’t Remember My Name' is a psych-driven reverb display, that leads into 'The Big Nod', where beats and guitars duel in complimentary form. 'Never Come Back Again', with its Cold Pumas drone motorik style beat that rides for a full minute just as it is, then while continuing on its same path, is joined by synths and instrumentation - and we're almost two minutes in before Reeves deigns to pitch a vocal in that ranges from the almost ghostlike to little touches that make this one of the album standouts, as well as one of the lengthiest, pushing over the six minute line. 'Guided Through', a zizzy five minutes of psych around which Reeves works fuzzy guitar notes and trademark lo-tone vocals, ends on
the best white noise scratch you are likely to hear all year.

But one of the strengths of 'No Time' is its range of style and depth, so amidst the likes of 'Never Come Back Again' and 'Guided Through' we also find lighter aural shades, like the title track - a Californian style daydreaming 1.42 minutes - 'Transient View' and 'Early In The Day', all shorter, sweeter, more ambient in tone to the ears, with the last of these three heaped with drone-fuel. 'Slumbering' too as its name may suggest, forges its way forward on a tide of pulsating tranquil sound  - before 'Foot Of The Stairs' charges up in the latter's wake, full of sharp guitar clashes that are threateningly juxtaposed against Reeves' muted tones.

Dazzling, hypnotic and surprising in equal measures, 'No Time' is an album that should be made time for, because you certainly won't come across much better of its genre.