Abrasive Trees – Bound For An Infinite Sea (2020)
If you are looking for an EP full of layered atmospheric tones that wrap around you and immerse you in their sound, Abrasive Trees has you covered. Bound for An Infinite Sea is the new three-track EP from Matthew Rochford’s new solo project and thick with those ambient sounds you might be looking for. While a short EP, it is all the introduction you need to get hooked to Abrasive Trees’ sound.
Joined by an array of collaborators, the experimental and immersive sounds create a spectral space for you to relax into. While seemingly dark, each track has positive energy bolstering it. This atmospheric and experimental soundscape can be streamed or you can also get a limited-edition CD or cassette.
The title track ‘Bound for an Infinite Sea’ opens the EP in all its driven and atmospheric glory. You can hear the multiple layers working from the start as these rumbling tones grab you and the guitar carefully creeps up from the depths. This rich soundscape leads you to Rochford’s vocals which start out as this dark and intense presence but become lighter and more spectral. There is so much intensity in this song that you can’t help but be sucked into the music and feel it cover you.
‘Brother Saint’ starts out with a slightly creepier vibe with echoes and reverb galore. The intricate guitar line gently breaks through these sounds but continues this sense of darkness creeping up on you. There is this build-up within the instrumentation of the track that completely swamps you and inundates your senses with a feeling that something is waiting just over the hill. This track has an amazing arrangement that completely absorbs you and is just so wonderful to listen to.
The EP ends with ‘Replenishing Water – Stripped’ which starts with these wonderful echoing notes that are almost like electronic gongs commanding your attention. There is a lighter vibe to this track compared to the last, but there is still this creeping sense of something lurking below. The instrumentation of this track has a more atmospheric feeling to it as it almost floats around you like a mist. While there is a sense of darkness to this song, you can also hear the positive threads piercing through.
If the songs themselves are not enough for you to be immersed, which really they should be or something is wrong with you, there is a music video for the title track. Created by Jess Wooler, the video uses a mixture of abstract imagery with sample footage of real-life like the moon rising. It really captures the essence of the track and the overall spectral vibes. It is remarkably hypnotic and will draw you even further into the music.
Bound for an Infinite Sea by Abrasive Trees eclipses the sun with a thick mist of rumbling notes, echoing guitars and spectral vocals. Through this thick musical soundscape, glimmers of positive energy flit past you before you are again covered by the unrelenting ambient soundscape. If you are looking for an EP that shuts the rest of the world away for a while, this is the one you need in your life.
Find out more about Abrasive Trees on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
