Stereocilia comprises of Bristol based guitarist and composer John Scott who according to his Bandcamp bio 'uses his guitar, analog synths and live looping techniques to create dense, rich layers of sound'. He's been recording since circa 2013 and has a plethora of releases to his name, far too extensive to list here in their entirety, of which Phases is his latest.
I spied shared Instagram followers as Sly and the Family Drone, Gnod, Repo Man, A.L. Lacey, Kavus Torabi (The Utopia Strong) and Colin Webster of Sex Swing and furthermore he has shared stages with Ben Frost, William Baskinski, Gnod, Nadja, Daniel Lanois, White Hills, Acid Mothers Temple and Josef Van Wissem. Finally he also composes for short film, including the Channel 4 award winning documentary, 'The Boy With The 8-Hour Heart.'. This should all give you a clue as to the kind of crowd drawn to Mr Scott's music as well as a hint of what to expect sonically.
'Have We Lost Our Minds' opens the album and is laden with shimmering Cold Wave Synths, like an even icier version of Electro outfit Tangerine Dream. The atmospheric beauty of the track is evident, opening the album in an aurally divine fashion. 'Diminished' contains elements of Shoegaze, with ample amounts of tasty reverb to be witnessed in a fashion not overly dissimilar to underrated Bostonians (U.S.) Swirlies. There is a dreaminess here, as well as a subtle use of Electronics; I'd heard somewhere that My Bloody Valentine were allegedly collaborating with Boards of Canada in the future, if that did happen I can envisage the results not being too dissimilar to what's heard here, divine. 'Float' is a little glitchier, the kind of thing one may associate with Autechre or any number of artists from the brilliant Warp Records label, mixed in with early Kraftwerk ala the underrated Ralf Und Florian album. Lovely stuff.
'Vessels' feels a little more involved, heavier even, with some exquisite drones that the promotional notes accurately describe as 'signalling the transition into the album's second phase'. That 'second phase' comes with 'No Way Out' which from the off recalls Piper at the Gates of Dawn era Pink Floyd and tracks such as 'Astronomy Domine' what with the tension running throughout that track. Then an explosion of colour and Psych free for all finally hits, bringing proceedings to a wondrous climax in a manner which the aforementioned White Hills would be proud. 'Idle Hands' has a much darker, eerie quality to it but also one possessed with a panoramic vision in the style of Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtrack work and Earth's post 2003 output. Going by these comparisons, it's unsurprising therefore that this is my favourite number on the record. 'Trust' at over eight minutes is the longest track on the album recalling bands such as Spacemen 3, Flying Saucer Attack and Loop what with the lush layers of Psychedelic Noise-Rock but invested with a hypnotic motorik beat in the spirit of Ash Ra Tempel that helps keep one hooked throughout. Epic in all senses of the word. 'New Mantra' as the title implies adopts a far more meditative, serene approach, one that in the wrong hands could have easily strayed dangerously into New Age territory but which is thankfully avoided here, instead drawing the record to a classier Dub tinged conclusion.
Despite the deeply experimental and potentially challenging nature of the album, I was never once left feeling distracted or dare I say, bored. With Phases John Scott has outdone himself by constructing an undeniably engrossing and enriching listening experience.
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