[Repost from Daily Vault; by Tom Haugen, July 28, 2023]
An aptly titled album from the highly creative artist Nic Jenkins, as infinitikiss he uses improvised backing track cassette tapes, vibrational therapy and chakra/energy systems for 75 minutes that are steeped in mood and colors in a ROYGBIV sort of way.
“drinking cherry hibiscus tea at a stop light at sunset” gets the listen off to a soothing, dreamy start, where very gentle guitar floats alongside the waves of calm droning. “the smell of burnt turmeric” follows, and presents a bit of a darker landscape, where a tinge of mystery enters the sparse, meditative song craft.
Moving along, the middle tracks are some of the best, and include the more firm gestures of “in the same vibration that pothos green grows,” which swirls with cinematic appeal. “or the minty jade of ginkos” is equally enjoyable, and carries a touch of sci-fi like exploration that makes great use of percussive sounds in a sparing but effective strategy.
Closing in on the end of the listen, “tears of happy mermaids” recruits the sound of woodwinds for a very light and hypnotic eight-plus minutes of very precise instrumentation, and “from a lavender halo we are projecting ourselves” finishes with a warm buzzing and raw electronic stabs that nearly sound mechanical in their technical nature.
A truly unique listen that incorporates indie-rock, alt-pop and electronica amid the looping skills, the most obvious and known parallel here would be Brian Eno. For those who really dig into the genre, other luminaries like William Basinski, Boxhead Ensemble, and Pye Corner Audio would be good reference points.
For those who prefer to own the physical product, the LP artwork is equally as colorful as the music, and is restricted to just 100 vinyl copies, but certainly worth seeking out for fans of ambient songwriting.
