Originally written by Dom Gourlay · 9 May 2005
Air Formation
57 Octaves Below EP
Label: Club AC30 Release Date: 09/05/2005
Have you ever woken up and felt you were still trapped inside a dream? Clearly if all dreams are meant to be pleasant and lovelorn affairs then Air Formation would be my choice to write the soundtrack.
Coming from the same stable of thought as the likes of Sigur Ros, My Bloody Valentine and Mew, Air Formation can go from breathy escapism ('For The Hours') to futuristic terrorcaust ('Never Far Away') in a matter of minutes, whilst still encapsulating the listener, as the next twist and turn is only moments away. Better still is the orgasmic drone of 'Ghosts', which sounds like Slowdive if they'd been airbrushed by Brian Eno's 48 track sequencer, while the glorious finale of 'Hope' is just that... as fitting an end to a collage of dreaminess as Mew's 'Comforting Sounds', in that you never want it to end and immediately find yourself going back for more.
As their debut EP on the AC30 label, '57 Octaves Below' is simply astonishing, as each track could hold its own as a formal "A side" among any peers both past and present. Remarkable.
• 9 Dom Gourlay's Score