- Solar Bears' nomadic music always owed something to the pastoral corners of British IDM. But that wasn't its only allegiance: 2013's Supermigration sprinkled library music, cosmic disco, '00s chillout and a bunch of other odds and ends into the kitschy potpourri. This single, which marks the Dublin duo's move from Planet Mu to Sunday Best, sits more squarely in the shadow of Boards Of Canada. Both of its loping downtempo songs are spotted with IDM-ish detail, their synth melodies wandering through strange modal zones that hint at both wonder and something more sinister. That could be a description of Geogaddi, and Wild Flowers will, at least, give a pleasant sense of déjá vu to IDM diehards.
Still, there are puzzling aspects to the way it's presented. The A-side seems to lack a beginning and end, as if we're checking in on a longer track that wanders on after we've gone. "Gravity Calling" shifts gears unexpectedly in the middle. Perhaps the duo realised they were indulging old habits, but their solution—a self-consciously epic finale—doesn't help much. Pye Corner Audio focusses on the epic, too, in his plodding remix of "Wild Flowers," with similar issues.
Tracklist01. Wild Flowers
02. Gravity Calling
03. Wild Flowers (Pye Corner Audio Remix)