Future Usses is a project featuring members of Intronaut and Bereft and they’ve clearly been putting a lot of thought into their debut, The Existential Haunting (Pelagic). Five years in the making, this is an album which is crafted and defined, but it’s not an album that the casual listener will find rewarding.
Opening up with the ephemeral ‘What Is Anything’ proceedings start with some tranquil and introspective psychedelic post-Rock which has more than a passing nod towards the likes of Mono or God Is An Astronaut and the track very much sets the scene for the rest of the album as it ebbs and flows, lapping against the shore of the subconscious mind.
‘Absolute Zero’ continues with low-key psychedelia, dropping notably in tone and throwing some heavier elements at the halfway mark and there’s a synthesized/modulated swirling guitar tone in the mix. A few times there are synthesized elements popping up which knock me from my focus as they sound like 16-bit gaming noises, randomly reminding me of playing Populous on the Amiga, or hearing the Sony PlayStation boot up sound.
‘Make Flower’ is a tough listen; there are disconcerting low-end back-masked vocals throughout that are surprisingly uncomfortable and the processed and subdued music serves to emphasise that vocal. This isn’t a nice track at all; repeated listens can serve to bring on a low mood. Tough, abrasive, harsh and slow, there’s no doubting the impact on the listener but it’s not one I’d care to repeat.
By the time ‘Heavenly Superperson’ comes on, you’re in no doubt that there aren’t so much tracks here as flavours – chapters within a story without words. There are also a notable lack of soaring highs or lows that you’d associate with post-Rock contemporaries and I found myself at this point thinking ‘okay then, get on with it’ and ‘what are they actually trying to convey here?’ Deeply relaxing at times, like the soundtrack music to a video on the dawning of life on earth, nothing particularly interesting happens but you find yourself fascinated regardless.
Final track ‘The Existential Haunting’ has some minor uplifting sections which start to bring the reward to the five song build up and if you can make it this far it’s almost like a meditation. The first five songs serving to disconnect the listener to ensure they make it to the end with a clear mind, a palate freshener for the musical tongue.
Ultimately, this album is well-crafted and well thought out, and delivered with an obfuscated structure which probably involves neuropsychology. As such, it’s not one which will get regular play from me, but regardless of mood going in, it imposes its intended emotional resonance upon you. Not for the faint hearted, and you’ve absolutely no chance on earth of having a bit of a dance to it, but it’s worth a listen even if just for the experience.
7.0/10
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