All Things Being Equal [CD]

It’s auspicious that Sonic Boom—the solo project and nom-deproducer of Peter Kember (Spectrum, Spacemen 3)—returns in
2020 with its first new LP in three decades. Kember’s drawn to
the year’s numerological potency, and this intentionality shines
into every corner of All Things Being Equal. It’s a meditative,
mathematical record concerned with the interconnectedness
of memory, space, consumerism, consciousness—everything.
Through regenerative stories told backwards and forwards,
Kember explores dichotomies zen and fearsome, reverential of
his analog toolkit and protective of the plants and trees that support our lives.
Sonic Boom’s second album and first for Carpark began in
2015 as electronic jams. The original sketches of electronic
patterns, sequenced out of modular synths, were so appealing that Stereolab’s Tim Gane encouraged Kember to release
them instrumentally. “I nearly did,” confesses Kember, “but the
vibe in them was so strong that I couldn’t resist trying to ice the
cake.” Three years later, a move to Portugal saw him dusting off
the backing tracks, adding vocals inspired by Sam Cooke, The
Sandpipers, and the Everly Brothers (which he admits “don’t
go far from the turntable pile”), as well as speculative, ominous
spoken word segments. His new home Sintra’s parks and gardens provided a different visual context for Kember’s thoughtful
observations, and he thematically incorporated sunshine and
nature as well as global protests into the ten resulting tracks.
“Music made in sterility sounds sterile,” he says, “And that is my
idea of hell.”
Over the vivid, calculating arps of opener “Just Imagine,”
Kember nudges listeners to do as the title suggests. It’s based
on a story he read about a boy who healed his cancer by picturing himself as a storm cloud, raining out his illness. “The Way
That You Live,” a rollicking drone powered by drum machine
rattles and bright chord beds, morphs political distrust into a
revolutionary mantra about ethical living. “I try and live my life by
voting every day with what I do and how I do it, who I do it with
and the love that I can give them along the way,” offers Kember.
An unusually curated gear list accompanies each song, unexpected layers reinforcing the monophonic skeletons. Mystery
soundscapes and grinding sweeps were teased from EMS
synths, synonymous with and evocative of ‘60s BBC scoring and
‘70s Eno. Pacing basslines oscillating into warbling heartbeats
came from a cheap ‘80s Yamaha. A modern OP-1 generated
subtle kicks and eerie theremins, while his toy Music Modem—
an unused holdover from sessions Kember produced for Beach
House and MGMT—finally found its recorded home

Just Imagine Just a Little Piece of Me Things Like This (A Little Bit Deeper) Spinning Coins and Wishing on Clovers My Echo, My Shadow and Me On a Summer’s Day The Way That You Live Tawkin TeknoI Can See Light Bend I Feel a Change Coming On

• Format Detail: CD
• Format: CD
• Genre: Indie & Alternative