Polar Inertia - Indirect Light

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  • Indirect Light is a fitting title for Polar Inertia's production debut on the French label Dement3d. Whoever is behind the project has a knack for summoning the aural equivalent of light, darkness and whatever lies in between. You may want to first head to the title track on the outer edge of the B-side for some explanation. There, amidst a backdrop of beatless, moody effects, the drawling voice of a "somewhat naïve research assistant" tells us of the "polar children." These former test subjects possess certain unnamed powers, and are unwillingly put into heavily medicated, nightmare-filled sleep states, before our narrator helps free them from confinement. Contextualized by that story, the other two tracks on the record each take off on a deep techno trip. The first one, "Black Sun," marches onward for over ten minutes past alien bursts of sound and long, dimly lit tones that gradually rise in intensity, only to be suddenly cut off in the face of a toughened-up kick drum. It's heady, vaguely anti-climactic and certainly not for the dance floor—unless sedatives are on tap at the bar. Almost as long but noticeably faster, "Sole Star" offers enough oomph that I can see it working in a set at an especially emotional moment. There's lots of nifty work done via cymbals and hi-hats, and a sonar ping near the end of every measure, but what links "Sole Star" to the rest of the record is a similarly tense yet more short-lived array of drones. Here, they come wrapped up in warm, rolling chords, and because of that the track is brighter than "Black Sun," and all the more addictive.
  • Tracklist
      A Indirect Light B1 Black Sun B2 Sole Star
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