Up for an adventure? Audiobulb squeezes out another thinker this year with Calika’s Seedling Mother, a glitchy, bleepy, post-rave orgy of crushingly wicked electro. I expected an interesting record from Audiobulb, and Calika delivers in spades.
The integration of acoustic instrumentation, silence, and digital sound elements make this a very enthralling listen. Take the track “Rep{eat Performance,” for instance; it starts with a soft (dare I say intimate) acoustic guitar arrangement, then out of nowhere careens into a kick heavy jam session. Unexpected twists and turns are the driving force behind this album, and the relative ease Calika demonstrates in the use of various different genres and techniques is reminiscent of well established IDM masters like Richard D. James. But unlike a lot of recent genre transcending releases, Seedling Mother stays very focused and concise throughout. The only overindulgent piece is “Mute,” an unnecessarily long track that can’t hold a candle to “No Hope But Everything” or “2 Quarters Make Half A Smile.” Unfortunately, “Mute” is placed at midway through the album, completely disrupting the flow.
Calika’s style is confined well within this album. Each strack seems bursting with an energy and enthusiasm not common in today’s melancholic electronic scene (excluding “Mute”). He employs a microhouse-influenced, low-key approach to sonic density, reminiscent of Vladislav Delay. However, the musical structure of the tracks manage to avoid the microhouse cliches plaguing most releases in recent years, while exerting the wonderfully refreshing restraint that keeps the layers of synths in check.
Emotionally, this album is a tad cold. Early on, the natural acoustic lines bring an interesting brightness to the first half, but as the album progresses, computerized bleeps and filters play down the bucolic atmosphere. Indeed, it is hard to balance the simplicity of this album with acoustic aura, and Calika does a masterful job of controlling the direction of the songs. Bu,t I would have much rather seen him build a longer, acoustic heavy track than the minimal (and boring) “Mute.” He has the potential ("Two Tales of Happiness”), and I’d love to see him use it.
This album is a very good initial listen. Every track has some genuinely interesting characteristics that aren’t explored in your run-of-the-mill album, and Calika’s manipulation of the sound is extremely interesting. Unorthodox genre shifts and experimentation mark this as a fantastic release and an improvement over his last LP, The Bright Spot. Die hard fans and newcomers alike should find plenty to agree with in Seedling Mother.
-Jack Britton