From the start, the vocal manipulation on LA Drones makes its mark as the driving factor of this project. Haunting on their own, the pianos and synth drones on "Malibu Waves" quickly add depth to the twisted loquations and open to door to the darker side of life in a sunny paradise. Playing like the montage to a Manson flick, the opener does well to bring darkness to the front while keeping the lighter tones present as accents. Mixed together like a well bred hybrid vs a hamhandedly crafted portmanteau, the coolness of the tones hint at an overall tone, but still ultimately leave everything up to the listener. Having visited The Bradbury (iconic spot familiar to many from Blade Runner), "Replicants Skip Rope" follows. A tad more grim and vocally focused than the opener, one can feel the duo's drive to push the tapes to the front and empathize with the emotions that must have spewed forth upon listening to these samples together. Slick and stylish (like Blade Runner), "Replicants" has more of a "cat & mouse" feel, and its often lugubrious and lethargic samples help to add tension. Remember Nancy's feet blasting through the stairs and nearly getting stuck in A Nightmare on Elm St? "Mirror Canyon Sunset" plays (to me) as the most straight-forward on the release, and that is most certainly not a bad thing. Liquid and moving like the Earth's crust under L.A., this one bubbles slowly and builds atmosphere through power and duration, each piece only doing as much as needed and the summation of all parts proving to be greater and more effective. While on its own it's a great and engaging piece, this one is extremely well placed in the layout of LA Drones. Closing with "Barefoot Dawn," one can feel the sunshine come to an end, be it the end of the trip, a life, a project, whatever. This also has some notes that are reminiscent of A Nightmare on Elm St (that's twice...haha definitely on my mind), which reiterates the end, the dream, the different world that not only L.A. provides, but also this album.

 

Four really engaging tracks rooted in vocal cassette samples, LA Drones shows Stuart Argabright & Stefan Scott Nelson firing on all cylinders. What started as a production journey turned into a release, with L.A., its landscape, its past, and its future all being the main event. Whether or not one has ever stepped foot in the CIty of Angels or only seen it on film, LA Drones will speak to you and engage with the pictures in your mind's eye, bringing forth all its deepest parts, light ot dark, and let you examine them while listening to some really cool experimental ambient. Drop in here for more