I’m just going to come out and say it but there is something about Reunion of Broken Parts by Edinburgh quartet Idiogram that reminds me of Moving Pictures by Canadian progressive rock overlords, Rush.
I know that is a daft and ridiculously bold statement to make but hear me out because I haven’t been this excited about an album release in a good wee while (I’m thinking Galvanize by A Sudden Burst of Colour was the last time) … it’s all to do with the combination of sounds and a willingness to, in their words, make it weird … and trust me when I say this is music for folks who like to be surprised.
There are no Geddy Lee-esque vocals on Reunion of Broken Parts but there are wonderful guitar-led melodies, intricate rhythms and changing time signatures, synths that create sonic depth or sweep across the sky like a Spinner, weird found sounds and recorded voices, and a backbone bass that just begs to be followed.
Beginning with ‘Hyperaccumulator’, Idiogram (not ideogram or idiot-gran) start really strongly with dissonant electronics before the melody, carried initially by the guitar then accompanied by the synths and keys, comes to the fore … theirs is a magical coming together on this track (no wonder it was a single) as it deftly moves about from full and robust, to quiet and delicate … all band members playing their parts (pun intended) to make the sound … before building in intensity to something truly magnificent.
We then have the fabulously synthy introduction to ‘Butcher’s Parcel’ (another single) which gives way to a rather full-on rhythm and guitar. When the melody kicks in … with the wee delightful moments of static … I’m just totally sold. I’m all in on this album. The track continues with a piano-solo section that brings everything down a notch or two before boom … the wall-of-sound kicks in with the drums, synths, bass and guitar all in sync … making the most joyful of sounds, one that I would hesitate to label because by naming it I feel I would take away some of the magic that I feel exists in this band and on this record.
The next track ‘Lady Coats’ starts off all ambient and mysterious … aided by a piano run and a gentle guitar … before the bass and drums join in for a more delicate, detailed sound … one that is decidedly hypnotic with washes of delay in the guitar lines. At this point, Idiogram could easily be on Gondwana Records … they have a modern jazzy vibe in their bag of tricks that really fits with that label’s current aesthetic.
On ‘Chromosphere / Tidal Disruption’ we get into the Public Service Broadcasting-arena of found verbal recordings over poignant piano-led melody … and I love it. The guitar especially is so dreamy juxtaposed against the piano loop and gentle bass and drums. That is before it builds up and gets wonderfully weird at the end … slamming-hands-on-piano weird and, whilst I wasn’t in any way prepared for it, I soaked it up like someone eating the most vibrant and zingy pasta sauce of their life.
I could wax lyrical about the remaining tracks on this album … but me associating it with Moving Pictures or the recent output on Gondwana Records or Public Service Broadcasting probably isn’t really that helpful … Reunion of Broken Parts is something else entirely, it is its own thing, and I absolutely love it. It needs to be heard and given the space to breathe … and will, I hope, be a piece of music that you will come back to time and again.
I now have to see them live.
