Belong

October Language

(Carpark)

Record Review by Alexis Roberts

Light some scented candles and draw a bubble bath. Belong, a duo from New Orleans, have released their first full length album on Carpark Records, a beautiful instrumental blend of hypnotic distortion, static, and long hollow notes. Imagine what Godspeed You! Black Emperor would sound like if they had 12 less band members, and that may give you a slight idea of what Belong is all about. The fact that they aren’t signed to Constellation or Kranky Records has given me reason to believe that this type of music isn’t going to continue to be monopolized by GY!BE and their infinite number of side projects.

October Language can be listened to in two ways. You can be the listener that lets the eight tracks disperse into the atmosphere and lull them into a state of relaxation, or you can be the listener that pays close attention and lets these songs take them on a journey (which is easier after the initial listen, in which you are just trying to figure out what the hell is going on). Each track has a different feel to it. You go from being in a space ship, to the beach on a stormy day, to being inside a cave, and then to lying under power lines and listening to them crackle, all within 45 minutes.

I would highly recommend this album to any person who enjoys the experimental rock genre, and can enjoy a good album with no words, composed mostly of beautiful sounds rather than specific notes and chords. For those that have yet to dabble in experimental rock, they may listen to the first track and think that they have purchased a defective disc. But I can guarantee that anybody with an open mind and love for music would find this to be a good addition to their collection.