Harrowing at times, but more so deeply intriguing and evocative, LAUTMALR’s imaginative expedition on “In Between the Noise” is a tour de force in experimental instrumental music. With an aesthetic that feels rather raw, perhaps at times grainy and dark even, “In Between the Noise” utilises a noise rock ethos but with instruments and electronic synthesisers to craft a soundscape that to me feels utterly its own. There isn’t a moment on this record where I felt I could draw a parallel to somewhere else, almost an otherworldly emotion and ethos that just enraptures you into the deepest depths of your own consciousness.
And that feeling isn’t unfounded for me. LAUTMALR defines the record’s ethos and purpose as one rooted in the quest to find yourself amidst a larger societal pressure that places preconceived notions and opinions all around. With endless possibilities, finding the right home and space within the world we live in feels almost inauthentic and fake many a times. What the album echoes, and what I derive its title itself might imply, is a journey that’s deeply intimate, incredibly personal, and motivated by a deep seated feeling to really not just be who you are, but find who you are without letting expectations or perceptions cloud that journey. In many ways then, the record feels like a celebration of what makes each of us so special.
From the opening flickering of “The Flicker”, you’re drawn in to this record if you have the slightest affliction for this type of grainy electronic instrumental work. It’s deeply intoxicating, a flurry that feels hazy yet gripping all at once. Later in the record, perhaps its magnum opus “Change of State” has you really going down a journey within yourself. It gives you the space to tune out the noise, to find who you are between the noise.
A grippingly powerful record that I know is going to be on loop whenever I feel the need to tune the rest of the world out and remind myself or find myself.