ninehertz

A welcome return for Endless Floods, following on from their II album a few years back that I remember reviewing fondly. Looking back to my writing then, I concluded by wondering whether the long form tracks would prove to be ones I would rarely visit again, despite the praise I'd lavished. And while I have remained familiar, it has largely proved to be the case.

Circle the Gold is unsurprisingly similarly curated, two tracks covering near forty minutes. The title track opens and I find myself hooked in again early on. They apply a deft touch to the expansive form, the space between notes and movements not impinged upon by noise or shriek or rumbling darkness as so many equivalents in the neighbouring doom realms. The approach feels like the minimal ends of post-metal as addressed by Hey Colossus, with all the intrigue that proposition promises.

Just past six minutes through it quietens, basic guitar and drums drawing down to an almost standstill, as if all other faculties have popped out for a fag break. It is arguable how to read this - is it inclusive in nature, a voyeuristic inclusion into the creative whim and jam of the band, or simply a disconnection from the joy and optimism of the early moments?

It starts to form again at around the thirteen minute mark, the return all the greater for the prolonged absence (as per design, of course). And if you've been frustrated by the middle section, you begin to forgive as the fuller sound - an elongated note here, increasingly textured layers there - magnifies and you are caught up in the whole yet again.

The twenty minute plus Seeds follows. I find this colder and thus harder to engage with prior to a similar drop out middle section, making any repeat journey to at least this far in - gone thirteen minutes by the time it all livens again - a difficult one to justify (or believe). The remainder barely connects either, until an emotion drenched cry two or three minutes from time. Perhaps I'm not in the right head space - music such as this can be for certain moods only I guess.

So one majestic track and one less so, Endless Floods once again enigmatic in their approach and delivery. They do it their way, and at their best they hold something special. It just requires patience on your behalf.