Bipolar Explorer sent us Memories Of The Sky (SLUGG RECORDS Slugg040CD) from NYC, where they recorded it “in a hurry” and mostly from single takes I would assume.
I love the music of this group – Michael Serafin-Wells playing most of the instruments, Sylvia Solanas adding spoken word and backing vocals – but I’ve pretty much exhausted my vocabulary and can’t find anything new to say about their beautiful music. I might say that they’ve progressed some way beyond the “dreampop” tag they formerly used to promote their music, and have now carved out a space of their own making – very devotional, respectful, and illuminated by a mysterious light like the inside of a cathedral. This one is a double CD with 22 tracks of music, song, poems, and other such dreamy interludes, and happens to be inspired by the French artist Louis Janmot, who created Le Poeme De L’Ame in the 19th century – a series of paintings and related texts which reveal a very devotional Catholic besotted with the beauty of ecclesiastical imagery, but also poised midway between heavy symbolism and tormented by impossible Romantic dreams to equal those of William Blake. No wonder that Bipolar Explorer are drawn to this creator – you can clearly see their preoccupations with the afterlife, especially the passage of angels between this world and the next, in just about all their albums, starting with their Christmas album Til Morning is Nigh, which we heard in 2018.
The full colour booklet includes song and poem texts, as well as evocative images of the night sky, comets, solar phenomena, and angels. The group continue to honour the memory of the deceased Summer Serafin, who receives printed credits for vocals and spoken words. (18/11/2024)