Similies

Matthew Cooper has been releasing deeply moving music under the Eluvium moniker since 2003 (as well as putting out the Miniatures album under his own name in 2008), and Similies, Eluvium's fifth full-length, is every bit as magnificent as what has come before. Through the use of warm electronics, piano and organ, feedback drones, occasional acoustic guitar, backmasked loops and other heavily processed instrumentation, Cooper creates cinematic soundscapes of unparalleled grace and beauty, emphasizing tone and atmosphere over blatant hooks, allowing melodies to gently weave their way through each piece. 



That said, Similes is perhaps his most structured and "conventional" work to date, and longtime fans will undoubtedly be somewhat taken aback when 47 seconds into lush opener "Leaves Eclipse The Light," Cooper's vocals insinuate their way into the mix. Wielding an understated, monotone delivery, the presence of the vocals is not only surprising but also quite breathtaking, adding unexpected shades to the likes of the aforementioned opener and the layered, gorgeous "Weird Creatures." Matching his delivery to the ethereality of the music and with lyrics of a similar weightlessness, the dreamlike edge of the songs becomes even more pronounced, and the result is not a million miles removed from that achieved by My Bloody Valentine, though obviously the work of a far more placid entity.



Every single track on Similies stands on its own merits, and it really is impossible to pick one over all the others. The layers of piano on "The Motion Makes Me Last" are so warm and enveloping it's almost like giving your soul a glass of warm milk, while the waltz-like "Making Up Minds" glows with a celestial tone that carries your thoughts somewhere high up among the stars. The record also concludes marvelously, first with the glacial, Brian Eno-esque instrumental "Bending Dream," and then bringing things to a close with 11-plus minutes of "Cease To Know," a song so delicate, poignant and achingly beautiful it truly would be insulting to try and encapsulate it in a couple of sentences.



What ultimately makes Similes so wonderful is that with every listen it seems to peel away the world around you, immersing you in its warmth, and for 43 minutes, it makes it so hard to believe that everything that might be wrong in your life actually matters at all. 

Temporary Residence LTD http://www.temporaryresidence.com