Cloud Boat has created ambient and transcendental music in their first full length release, Book of Hours. This London duo doesn’t subscribe to contemporary compositional styles, injecting electronic elements into mournful ballads, like a cross between Explosions in the Sky and Kid A. And although there are heavy syncopated beats and thrumming bass, this isn’t dance music. Book of Hours instead offers an intellectual and introspective journey that is somber but suspenseful.
The songs of Book of Hours find strength in organic composition by avoiding expectations of musical structure and employing no particular chorus or verses. The vocals aren’t in their normal role of driving the sound forward through melody and lyrics. Instead, guitar, rhythm, and vocals interact, each element chiming in to complement and fill the other. Tom Clarke’s clear and resonant voice soars like somber notes being carried on the wind, while Sam Ricketts’ electronic guitar echoes back with melodic support. And after the initial slow pace that most of the tracks begin with, beats come in to take the song in a completely new direction.
Book of Hours has the unique ability to reach down into you and evoke emotions. “Bastion” lulls you with minimalist electronic guitar, while Clarke croons into your ear. Then the vocals switch into falsetto, and the rhythm is put into high gear for an experience that can only be described as powerful. “Wanderlust” sounds like something you would want to listen to on a rainy day, with its mellow chords and subdued effects. On the other end of the spectrum, “Pink Grin II”, one of the album’s more techno-influenced tracks, is high-energy and almost danceable.
Cloud Boat’s debut album is a successful effort comprised of musical experimentation and inventive sounds. Haunting and vibrant, Book of Hours provides an experience for both your ears and mind.
