The Centre of the Downward Spiral (EP) - Aldred (Experimental) So before you dive into aldred’s The Center of the Downward Spiral, you’re going to want to turn down (or off) the lights and make sure you’re hooked up to a surround sound stereo system. aldred’s masterful EP is a carefully crafted soundscape in which you should sit in the center, and let this broody collection of choral lushness swirl around you.
The EP delivers four unique tracks in a cohesive package, both in tone and production. This is a broody affair, with aldred’s baritone delivered in a multi-layered chorus, typically soft spoken with occasional moments of piercing through the miasma of synths and reverbs to make a point. It is clear from the lyrics to the delivery that this album is deeply personal to the artist, which always elevates music in our view. From the first few moments of the EP you realize you’re in for something special.
Red Light Energy sets the tone on what will prove to be an impeccably sequenced EP. We love aldred’s commitment to style—the mark of a true artist with a project-mentality over hit chasing. It’s a unique one at that, marked by lush synths, warbly backgrounds and boy does he like to weave around with panning that almost makes these tracks an ASMR experience. The EP also makes great use of amelodic sound effects–with this track introducing us to some haunting screams and breaking glass. Red Light Energy is what tucks us into aldred’s universe.
The next track, Every Angle, shows that aldred is conscious of making sure his style does not blend the songs to the point of them losing their individual identity. Every Angle’s unique feature is in the percussion-a tom that cuts through the dreamy synths before a techno inspired percussion that pulls us up tempo, starting to veer away from Red Light Energy’s abstract construction into a slightly more structured affair.
We slow back down with Pink Glass, but gain more structure. This track interestingly uses a hiphop-inspired percussion to the fuzzy synths to make what we think is probably the most radio-friendly track. The vocals are heavily layered here, and now three songs in, we start to wonder if aldred comes from a choral background considering the complexity of the arrangement.
End of days concludes the EP’s melancholy tone with a thudding kick and a nintendo-reminsicent synth, and is far and above our favorite track on the project. What stands out to us the most is the interesting choices made in the melodic progression—inspired in our point of view, making each segue a surprise. The carefulness with which the song was created is evident in its incredibly diverse instrumentation as well—lots of switch-ups here that constantly keep you guessing. We also count Aldred’s brooding voice among the instrumentation, perfectly baked into the production.
aldred is certainly an artist with a vision, and among all their referenced inspirations, we think this work fits neatly into the bjork universe. Well produced and cohesive, aldred’s The Centre of the Downward Spiral is an extremely engaging listen and a feat of both artistry and vision.