Black Marble – Fast Idol (Ltd Edn Gold Vinyl LP)

On Fast Idol, LA-based Black Marble reaches back through time to connect with the forgotten bedroom kids of the analogue era, the halcyon days of icy hooks and warbly synths always on the edge of going out of tune. Harmonies are piped in across the expanse of space, and lyrics capture conversations that seem to come from another room, repeat an accusation overheard, or speak as if in sleep of interpersonal struggles distilled down to one subconscious phrase. At the same time, percussive elements feel forward and cut through the mix with toms counting off the measures like a lost tribe broadcasting through the bass and tops of a basement club soundsystem. Fast Idol is Stewart’s fourth full-length album and his second for Sacred Bones.

Melodies roll with the fizz and charm of Jacno and phrases repeated are electric torchlight ballads sung after hours in William Gibson’s San Francisco. “Somewhere” opens in somber herald, before dropping into a fast freeway tempo; the glassy synths and crisp beats cut through the anxious moods on “Bodies” and “Try” sits in a lineage with cult bands like Asylum Party. “The Garden” is a journey through a post-apocalyptic cityscape, earthed by the pulse of a drum machine whereas “Ship To Shore” could be a lost Oppenheimer Analysis B-side, and the album’s closer “Brighter and Bigger” catches a sentiment like The Dadacomputer has learned to feel emotions.

Fast Idol sees Black Marble face the rising tide of uncertainty, leaving our future selves to trace its signal as its frequencies echo into an interstellar expanse, looking for a receiver. He says: “I want my music to stick with you after I leave, even though you might not feel like you’re any closer to knowing it.”

1. Somewhere
2. Bodies
3. Royal Walls
4. Try
5. The Garden
6. Say It First
7. Streetlight
8. Ceiling
9. Ship to Shore
10. Preoccupation
11. Brighter and Bigger