Pye Corner Audio : The Endless Echo

Pye Corner Audio opened a whole new world of electronic music for me. It’s one I’ve tried putting a label on ever since I first heard The Black Mills Tapes; then Sleep Games, Stasis, Hollow Earth, and Entangled Routes. It’s the label I’m still attempting to come up with right now listening to Martin Jenkins, aka Pye Corner Audio, newest masterpiece The Endless Echo.

There’s always one main element, and that’s a slinky heartbeat of a rhythm. A very sparse, reedy dance beat. It’s what separates Pye Corner Audio from other electronic artists dabbling in the same vicinity. It’s less a sweaty club beat, and more of a melancholy sway. The kind of movement one might make thinking about the past and the ghosts that sit in that dark space waiting to haunt you.

With that through line rhythm Jenkins covers it in eerie synth swells, wistful melodies, and a feeling of nostalgic sadness. Ancient machines creaking to life; ghosts elevating from circuits that open portals to other dimensions or past lives. These elements come together as a score to haunted contemplation. Downtempo haunts. Ambient techno. Specter electro.

See? I’m still struggling.

The Endless Echo is an epic journey into all of Pye Corner Audio’s moods and superpowers. At just under an hour it’s an epic journey built on slinky rhythms, ethereal melodies, and a feeling of listening to music out of our concept of time and space. The album exists in its own time zone. It’s a portal to eerie contemplation, hazy melodies, and heady intentions.

At 16 tracks and 54 minutes this is a dense listen. We leave the sunnier disposition of Pye Corner Audio’s last full length, 2022s Let’s Emerge!, and head back into darker territory of earlier albums. “The Awful Majesty” opens the album like sonic doom emanating from some other dimension. The album deals with the concept of time and the idea that it may just be a concept created by man and that it actually doesn’t exist at all. “The Awful Majesty” captures that vibe perfectly. Wavering, swelling synth notes that are part Hammer horror film and grainy 70s sci fi. “Decision Point” feels like an opening credit theme to a sublime sci-fi movie from the early 80s. It evokes mystery with movement; horror of the psychological kind. “Lacunae” hums in sub frequencies like waking from some absinthe-induced sleep. Sunrise on some untethered world.

Elsewhere “On The Clock” bubbles in rhythmic intent. “Specter electro” right here. It’s like Jenkins wanted to combine his love of downtempo electronic music with his love of late night creature features and The Twilight Zone and found the perfect balance. There’s some truly sublime works here, like the bubbly “Momentary Permanence” and the groove-heavy “Deeptime”. And album closer “Unremembered” is truly stunning and haunting. Ghost-like tones rise from the depths and open the door that leads us back into our own reality. Whether you step through or decide to explore further is up to you.

As for me? I could stay in the world of Pye Corner Audio for a very long time. I say this with every release from Martin Jenkins, but The Endless Echo might be the best PCA album yet. Epic in scope, engaging throughout, and the perfect balance between heady ambient pieces and techno-driven dance tracks. But all of it haunted in the best way possible.