The latest to drop from SFI Recordings is the cosmic and expansive Warning Sense by Mnemonic Pulse. Over the course of four slow-building heavy synth tracks you get tension and release; early 80s Tangerine Dream(think Exit) combines with ambient-heavy early 80s synth scores.
Portland, Oregon’s Caitlin Love, aka Mnemonic Pulse, has been releasing heady and cinematic electronic music for three years now. On her SFI Recordings debut Warning Sense she dives deep and explores the cosmos via four heavy synth space drifts.
Something like album opener “Spice Agony” has an overwhelming sense of peace that hangs over it. Long, wavering notes cascade out, taking their time as disembodied voices rise from the depths. You can almost imagine floating through the black of space sans space ship, free floating in your cosmonaut suit knowing your fate will be a cold and lonely one. But there’s also a sense of peace, at least until the oxygen runs out.
“Ritual Fear” has a sense of urgency to it, as if that deep space float is moving towards a black hole. Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and even touches of Vangelis come through here. It feels as if chaos is just under the surface. “Truth Sayer” is contemplative and ominous at the same time. Light notes waver in the air as a kind of darkness begins to encapsulate everything. The cosmos devouring itself in a galactic display of self destruction.
“Wounded Fugitive” rises from the last waning notes of “Truth Sayer” and builds into an 80s-influenced banger, complete with electronic percussion and even dance floor touches. It’s an inspired finale to an engrossing and heady sound experience.
Warning Sense is a stunning album from Caitlin Love’s Mnemonic Pulse. Capturing the absolute best of Berlin School space drifting, while adding something new and hypnotic to the genre. There’s a flow between the tracks, while each feel very unique and stand apart from one another. There’s four very distinct sound worlds to explore here.
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