Growing out from their kosmische-classicist beginnings, Australia’s Kl(aüs) deliver a braver and broader-reaching second album for Castles in Space
Whilst there may be something a tad contrived about the creative coupling of erstwhile Tasmanian schoolfriends Stewart Lawler and Jonathan Elliott under the umbrella of Kl(aüs) – from the typographically-troubling group name to the retro-utopian technologist artwork to the studious referencing of sacred Berlin School kosmische texts – 2016’s eponymous debut LP from the twosome was far away from being a collection of lazy fanboy facsimiles. Four or so years on, Kl(aüs) return with another studio selection that expands upon their existing sound palettes and compositional templates with unashamed sophistication.
Although the sleeve notes list a somewhat obscene amount of digital and analogue gear used to construct the tersely-titled 2, the now-Sydney, Australia-based Lawler and Elliott once again emphasise their musicality rather than just fetishising vintage synths and/or software plug-ins. Consequently, whilst this does find them leaning into proggier neo-classical directions, it also means that their reach is both breathtakingly expansive and powerfully precision-tooled.
With a handful of guests adding extra guitars and bass to the electronically-framed recordings in places, the five gathered wordless pieces, of varying marathon-length durations, cover plenty of globe-trotting terrain and hop through a lot of historical eras. No more epically expressed is this than on the fourteen-minute opener “Shurnackabtishashutu”, which shifts itself through movements of shimmering Steve Reich-like percussive repetitions, sitar-imitating eastern vibes, elemental dronescape sculpting, Tangerine Dream-imbued glistening and pulsing, Jean-Michel Jarre-soaked aquatic symphonics and slightly bombastic Vangelis-leaning infusions.
Though less sprawling, the remaining four cuts still extend Kl(aüs)’s range. Hence, the ensuing “Alma Febles Struggles Into the Night” blurs almost new-age electro-acoustic serenity into found sounds and rippling as well as Morse-codified synth layers; “On the News It Looked Like She Was Floating” swims into immersive waves of John Carpenter sci-fi noir; “Heroes of 1986” tenaciously taps into somewhat tongue-in-cheek 80s techno-pop-meets-stadium-rock tropes in search of a film montage sequence to accompany; and the closing “Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan” veers through gamelan chimes, fizzing burbling electro-noise, discombobulated disco-beats, euphoric near-ecclesiastical flourishes and voodoo tattoo drum strata.
Whilst there’s a lot to digest here from just two sides of vinyl, 2 skillfully doesn’t become over-engorging. Instead, it feels like an album to keep revisiting for its aural servings that reveal something afresh from Kl(aüs) each time. Roll on 3 please…
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