310
Recessional
Leaf
As I walked around my house listening to Recessional, I couldn’t tell if the background sounds were being made by people outside my place or if it was part of the album. Throughout this album, horns and traffic sounds blend with beats of placid trance. “Shadow Traffic” starts off with a car pulling over and a car being started over and over again; then the beats of a voiceless rhythm lure you into an amusing piece of instrumental music.
“A Fare To Remember” has a monotonous tone that after three minutes leads into “Night On The Ocean,” one of the few songs with lyrics. With “Night On The Ocean,” you get a lightly tapped continuous sound, as if you were in India receiving a back massage. I can’t listen to this album before falling asleep because its softly-played cryptic guitars and out-of-body experience music themes make me feel like I am in a Stephen King movie. 310 had to have had sex on their minds while making Recessional, because the album is perfect for a long night of passion. The rhythm will not overshadow any noises being made while in climax.
This album is its own aesthetic, narrative experiment that uses everyday sounds paired with an eclectic offering of softly played instruments. “Study In Scarlet” gives you soft drums, a vision of the city at night, a full moon overlooking chaos, police lights, the coroner taking the body away, while you drive away into a night life of solitude. The enigmatic lyrics of “Cloud Rooms” sing to the subconscious: “Confusion is the road to creation.”
The album isn’t made to be heard at a party, but we’re not always in the mood to drink and party. Sometimes we need a little bit of serenity as background music.
