• Music Reviews
  • About
  • Tell Us What to Write
Menu

We Hate Music

A Bit Behind But Always Worth It
  • Music Reviews
  • About
  • Tell Us What to Write
april_05_[rain].jpg

Bicep - Rain

April 11, 2018

April 11, 2018 - Ninja Tune

They say the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain. But, in Bicep’s case, it’s just stormy weather. Not the disastrous kind of storms, but the foreboding kind that encourages you stay indoors and think about the things that confuse you. In my case, those things are the motives behind Bicep’s release cycle. 

Rain is a tangential EP with tracks that strongly remind me of the tracks on the Bicep album, released with resounding applause on Ninja Tune in September 2017. And my déjà vu is justified by the fact that ‘Rain’ the track was released on both the Bicep Album and Rain EP. 

That said, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the second track ‘Helix.’ It starts off punchy with a thick drum beat and continues with something complex and contradictory—a bright, sparkly melancholy. The melody is unexpected. It reads like forgettable transitional notes pulled from the melody of a different song and transformed by the pressure of a spotlight. These are the days of our lives, the in-between notes we take for granted that carry us from one memorable melodic swell to another. Bicep luxuriates in media res, presenting a new perspective and cultivating a unique melodic sensibility that my saturated ears find very refreshing. 

These three ‘new’ tracks are exactly what I expect from Bicep almost one year after they first appeared on my radar—technically tight, heavily textured, attractive music, unexpected melodies evocative of complex emotions, a soundscape where instruments are played like drops of water in a bowl. So, consider Rain the EP Bicep’s late addendum to their brilliant self-titled album, because that’s how it reads. The addendum is obligatory, but the full album is what you are buying. This EP is an infant standing before a monolith. And if you like babies, go listen to both projects back to back. 

Rain was not released to push envelopes. In fact, it seems like a compulsory release to keep up appearances of career activity. Mission accomplished, Bicep. I haven’t forgotten about you. Thank you for sending me a great reminder to put your album back on my turntable. ☔

In Lady June Lockheart
← Human Movement - Run it By MeSola Miami 2018 Compilation // 'The Will's' →

Latest Posts

Featured
Jun 30, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
LADYMONIX - Welcome 2 My House
Jun 30, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Jun 30, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Jun 23, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Major Axis - Hologram Memory
Jun 23, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Jun 23, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Jun 1, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
OOWETS - Star Wave
Jun 1, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Jun 1, 2023
The Honeyboy Jones
Archive
  • January 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2018
  • April 2018
  • May 2018
  • June 2018
  • July 2018
  • August 2018
  • September 2018
  • October 2018
  • November 2018
  • December 2018
  • January 2019
  • February 2019
  • March 2019
  • April 2019
  • May 2019
  • June 2019
  • July 2019
  • August 2019
  • September 2019
  • October 2019
  • November 2019
  • December 2019
  • January 2020
  • February 2020
  • March 2020
  • April 2020
  • May 2020
  • June 2020
  • July 2020
  • August 2020
  • September 2020
  • October 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2020
  • January 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2021
  • April 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2022
  • February 2022
  • March 2022
  • April 2022
  • May 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2022
  • August 2022
  • September 2022
  • October 2022
  • December 2022
  • January 2023
  • February 2023
  • March 2023
  • April 2023
  • May 2023
  • June 2023

© We Hate Music 2018 - 2024