Indie-pop provocateur, classical composer, and multi-instrumentalist James Anthony Wolff – under his enigmatic project name Harvest Runes – delivers something truly captivating with King of Clouds. This album is a modern-but-past-dipping masterpiece from an especially gifted musical mind. Let’s hit the highlights.
Listening, and talking about it
King of Clouds kicks off with “Fast Maneuvers.” It begins with tin-canned vocals and a chunky percussive gait reminiscent of Thrak-era King Crimson. With analog warning signals, oddly timed attacks, deteriorating Mellotron strings, and phasing, electrified violin, “Fast Maneuvers” is progressive indie-pop for the advanced class.
“Electric Sky” hosts a vocal styling reminiscent of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. It’s sinister with distorted, sky-booming electric guitar and analog-ish bass synth. And with those peeping, then piercing Mellotron strings, “Electric Sky” is another audio-spectrum-filling, bio-electronic masterpiece.
More glorious highlights: “Everybody Is Wondering” is blissful, early-morning introspection that has its proportionate catharsis. “Are You Even Satisfied” is bouncing electronic arpeggios joined by that relished, thickly distorted guitar; it glides across those ricocheting electronic signals before solidifying as triumphant chords.
Album closer “Three Angels” is more mid-tempo with electronic glittering, pulsing bass, cracking, spectrum-pervading guitar, and a yearning vocal doubled with instant reverberations between the closing walls of a shiny cylinder prison.
But is it good?
Fans of Radiohead, Muse, and adventurous, nearly progressive indie-rock, rejoice – Harvest Runes’ King of Clouds will absolutely fill that need for intelligent, boundary-pushing, thematic and independent rock music. With a new album arriving this year through indie label Sungate Records, Harvest Runes has successfully added yet another fan who longs for this forthcoming release. Recommended, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him/them headlining several artistic music festivals.
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