By: Rich Buley
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Released on May 15, 2015 via White Light Recordings
93MillionMilesFromTheSun have had a very productive time of it in the recording studio over recent months. Following the release of comeback EP Watch Her Fall in February, the experienced drone/space rock trio from Doncaster have now released their fourth album in the shape of Fall Into Nothing, which at fifteen tracks and over eighty minutes in length must surely qualify for a ‘magnum opus’ description on sheer scale alone. Whether it is to be considered as the band’s ‘greatest work’ is, however, very much open to debate.
One thing we do know for certain is what a new record by 93MillionMilesFromTheSun is going to sound like. From their 2008 debut and self-titled album, through to this year’s releases, the band deal almost exclusively in an interpretation of aesthetic noise and effects that is best described as an equal part amalgamation of A Gilded Eternity era Loop, and Ride, probably just before they went Blank Again. In one sense, this unswerving commitment to a very particular arrangement, to repeated tones and harmonisations, can be truly admired, both in terms of the dedication itself, but also because it has often resulted in some truly spectacular moments. However, the lack of development in the band’s sound, the apparent reluctance to introduce new elements to the mix, or to experiment with song structures and rhythms, is at times, during a very long album of similar sounding orchestration, painfully evident.
Having said that, I do consider myself a huge fan of 93MMFTS’ signature sound, and following a field recording of thunder and heavy rain (presumably they didn’t have to travel far to capture it) that acts as an introduction, Nick Noble’s array of guitar effects arrive, initially sounding quite a lot like the weather: windswept, foreboding and capable, at a moment’s notice, of unleashing a ferocious and unremitting storm of enormous proportion. The album is segued, from start to finish, indicating perhaps the Artist’s desire to provide the listener with a captivating and immersive listening experience. Unfortunately however, Fall Into Nothing’s heavens never truly open, and this delivers an end result that is instead slightly overblown, a little bit claustrophobic and really rather frustrating.
The first characteristic of 93MMFTS’s previous output that made them sound exciting and engaging was the wonderful depth and expansiveness of their heavily-effected sound, and its ability to evoke feelings of loss, desolation and calm by way of an enormous wall of beautiful guitar noise. Secondly, in each of their previous albums, alongside these moments of jaw-dropping elegance there have been some monumental sonic assaults on the senses. Both calling cards are largely conspicuous by their absence on this album, and leaves the band sounding reigned in and unimaginative.
Changes of pace and composition would have helped Fall Into Nothing enormously, but the first part of the album really struggles to hold my attention, as each mid-paced track follows an almost identikit pattern. It says a lot when the two most interesting bits of music during the opening half are the two white noise interludes that feature as effective mood pieces. After this, ‘Sunshine Girl’’s lovely, lilting chord refrain provides some much needed colour and harmony to proceedings at track 9, while ‘Nothing Left Inside’ ups the tempo, introduces a chorus, and provides the highlight of the album by a country mile.
It pains me to write a negative review about a band that I have a huge amount of time for, but after the promise of the earlier EP this year, Fall Into Nothing is a disappointment as a long-player, simply because I know 93MillionMilesFromTheSun can deliver so much more. For those discovering 93MillionMilesFromTheSun for the first time with this album, there is absolutely nothing intrinsically wrong with the record, and it would certainly provide a basic introduction to this special band. But with the exception of the two tracks mentioned by name, there would be no other candidates for my eighty minute “best of” compilation, which would provide a far more explosive and enthralling starting point than what is available here.
