Labels: April
Review by: Andy Malcolm
This is a beautiful record. I listen to it every night whilst going to sleep. Not because of the title. Just because it fits. Especially when I have been drinking to forget stuff and start to pass out. It eases me into a slumber. Soothing. It doesn’t save the hang-over though…
Opiate is clickety-click-pop-fizz-fsssssst electronica, I think it is the best music in this style I own. I guess if you are into things like Arovane or Bauri (those are the only folks I know that sound remotely like this) you will like this too, I think it is better than both those. Get this together with the 4 song 12″ EP that was recently released too. They make a good tandem. “Whilst You Were Sleeping” is a collection of Thomas Knak’s obscurities and out of print things from 1999-2001, not that I had ever heard of him till a couple of weeks ago. The first side is a little more melodic. Like the first track, it has a wandering tune to it, as well as some sounds that remind me of dialing on old telephones or someone using a typewriter. Goddamn emo. Mostly I have this record on super quiet so I don’t hear those. But when I have it on louder, I do. It’s relaxing and calming. There is also a jazzy track (“Late”) with piano sounding noises, it works well. Very atmospheric.
I love the cover, it is a soft-focus picture of someone asleep, wrapped up in the sheets. It reminds me of seeing Nadia asleep. Asleep people are awesome.
Overall there are 8 tracks here, and it fits as a cohesive singular work just fine – although side A is more melodic and side B is more relaxing. And as I mentioned, it is great for falling asleep to, although for a while I found that my stylus wouldn’t automatically stop when it got to the end, which was a pain, as it meant I had to get out of bed and turn everything off. Bah. All seems fine now. Side B is definitely the side to fall asleep to, although it has one track that has lots of fast beats which is not normally my style. Works here though! I hope this record will give me cool dreams in the future.
If you like the whirr-click-buzz-fssssssssst electronica, then you will love Opiate. This owns. Try it.