- If it seems like it's been quite some time since we heard from New Orleans drone duo Belong, then a first listen to their second album, Common Era, might lead you to believe you bought, stole or (legally) downloaded the work of another band entirely. Following more in line with their psychedelic "classics" cover EP, 2008's Colorless Record, than the leaden-sky guitar of their excellent debut album on Carpark, October Language, Common Era certainly maintains the band's wintry sense of texturing and twilight drifting. But for their debut on Chicago's experimental stalwart Kranky and their first full-length since 2006, Belong—Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones—now use that fuzzy blur as the base for a slightly poppier, vocal-based assembly that's heavily indebted to the gloomy post-punk of bands like Joy Division or the Cure along with the shoegaze of MBV, Ride or even scene predecessors like Jesus and the Mary Chain.
In fact the first thing you're likely to notice about Common Era is the crisp, steady patter of the trademarked Factory Records drum sounds grounding Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones' mournful hum. Which is not to argue that the two have completely shed their more ambient roots for the conveniences of a steady beat and hum-along vocal melodies. Instead, Common Era resembles a shoegaze record heard against a brutal wind, often splitting the difference between their song-oriented inclinations and their mesmeric tendencies.
Their guitars just aren't allowed as much room to float; they're tightly wound repetitive drones and melodies more befitting their new brand of mopey, nostalgic rock whose lyrics are barely ever discernible even when given to actual words. "Keep Still," for example, features vocals that hover and spin more than they advance, a moan enmeshed in the duo's cloudy guitar work, while with its hazy singing and dissonant guitar squall, "Come See" and "Never Came Close" might easily be confused for UK anthems of the late '80s and early '90s. "Different Heart" and the title track meanwhile, are softer and more velveteen, each with an almost metronomic pulse.
But for all of the more arresting moments Belong have crafted on Common Era—and there are plenty—the album's bogged down with enough obvious touchstones and sonic allusions to perhaps divide the duo's former allies from new ones. Often straddling the line between homage and mimicry, it's damn tempting to recommend Belong now more to aficionados looking for a new wrinkle on their favorites than to fans of what, frankly, I thought was kind of an ambient classic in October Language. If it's often notoriously difficult to produce a drone album that can stand out from a deluge of similar releases every month—one of the reasons so many casual listeners write off ambient music in general—you can certainly say the same for this sort of post-punk pastiche given the last decade's rehashing.
Tracklist 01. Come See
02. Never Came Close
03. A Walk
04. Perfect Life
05. Keep Still
06. Different Heart
07. Make Me Return
08. Common Era
09. Very Careful