This is the second Robin Guthrie release during 2009. He has a full length album and one more EP planned. I guess this is the precursor to his solo work for this year. The EP features four songs in just barely over fifteen minutes. So there is not a lot here, but let's go over each piece.
The EP starts off with Camera Lucida. For the first two minutes of this song, Guthrie is playing echoed guitar that tinkles lightly. Eventually the drums kick in, and there is a bass riff, and the song gets very epic and expansive. This is very similar in nature to what he was doing on 3:19, his solo release just before this one.
Love Never Dies a Natural Death is more of a late-night kind of tune, which is kind of unusual for Guthrie. There is a slow keyboard bit, a light bass line, and the guitar in long arpeggios. This is a really beautiful tune, but it moves at a tranquil pace that i most often associate with trip-hop. Not to say that this is a Portishead style of song, but there is the same general feel to the movement.
Red Moon Rising features another strong keyboard part which is used to create a low rumble under the guitar. This song seems a little more unsettling that the others on this EP, as if the rising of the red moon is an awful omen. I really like the way he uses synths to simulate a chorus singing "aaahhhh" ominously here, as the guitar crawls along. Eventually some clattering percussion comes in, making this more IDM-feeling than a lot of his solo stuff has been. That is an interesting direction for Mr. Guthrie, and i find it works well.
Delicate is even more electronic, starting with a rumbling synth tone for about a minute until you really even start to hear guitar, which is not typical for Guthrie at all. He also has a really nice bass line in this one, keeping the synths and the guitar both in line.
My verdict here is that the four songs featured on Angel Falls point to an increased synthesizer/keyboard presence in Guthrie's work. This is not to say that he is re-inventing himself as Burial, but rather that he is playing with some different toys to do what he does so well.
I find this to be an interesting EP, but then again i am a Robin Guthrie fanboy. This is typical of his work, and it is lovely for what it is. I suppose that if you have never been fond of his solo work, then this will not change your mind.
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