Laurel Halo: Chance of Rain

By JUICE Malaysia • 04 Mar 2014 in Review

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Text Christopher Ujine Ong

BODY WITHOUT ORGANS
Of Laurel Halo’s sophomore, so much has been made of Chance of Rain that theories about perceptions of time as it is patterned online and French philosopher Delueze’s theory of ‘Body without Organs’ have been pulled into the critical dissection of its nine tracks. It’s as though Halo’s been feted as some kind of Professor-saviour of the meta-beats of bumpf-whump-thump, cerebral music that will turn your noggin to mush if you even so much as try to play it. Quantum mechanics this ain’t, just music that might shift valences of attraction and appreciation if you take the time to listen.

In a stark shift from her equally lauded debut, Quarantine, Halo has removed all presence of her vocals, leaving her machine music to shine. And so they do: ‘Oneiroi’ is beaded with woodsy chirrups and chattering twips, ‘Serendip’ rotates blips in overlapping syncopations, and the micro-tactile techno title track is screened over with an abstract tract of random notes midway through. It’s not as challenging as some critics have made it out to be, not when Halo’s grilles of beats can so easily ensnare you, body and mind, like how sheets of rain catches a child in awe.

LISTEN TO: ‘Oneroi’
IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU’LL DIG: Oneohtrix Point Never
RATING: 4