In late 2013, Roly Porter released Life Cycle of a Massive Star, a mammoth LP of deep, celestial movement. The former Vex'd member was ambling away from his dubstep roots and toward a form of near-beatless electronic ooze. Just over two years later, Porter has returned with his third solo LP and Tri Angle debut, the dramatic Third Law.
Just as deep and cosmic in scope as its predecessor, this album eschews traditional beats in favour of a primordial throb, a rhythm that seems to originate deep within the planet's core. Enrobed in a thick coat of static and flanked by darkness, these eight lengthy pieces are full of all manner of uncanny spirits. The quiet strings of "In System" are supplanted by the gauzy ping-pong of "Mass" and a crescendo of white noise invades "High Places" before dropping off into a chasm of emptiness. On "Departure Stage," a glimmer of hope shines through, proving that Porter hasn't yet given himself over to the dark side completely. A lesser mind would have dissolved inside the sinister haze that is Third Law.
(Tri-angle Records)Just as deep and cosmic in scope as its predecessor, this album eschews traditional beats in favour of a primordial throb, a rhythm that seems to originate deep within the planet's core. Enrobed in a thick coat of static and flanked by darkness, these eight lengthy pieces are full of all manner of uncanny spirits. The quiet strings of "In System" are supplanted by the gauzy ping-pong of "Mass" and a crescendo of white noise invades "High Places" before dropping off into a chasm of emptiness. On "Departure Stage," a glimmer of hope shines through, proving that Porter hasn't yet given himself over to the dark side completely. A lesser mind would have dissolved inside the sinister haze that is Third Law.