CUTS originally surfaced as an anonymous audiovisual project, releasing an ominous EP of darkwave pop in 2014 as well as a limited VHS cassette of short films. By 2018, it had been revealed that Bristolian filmmaker and musician Anthony Tombling Jr. (previously of Transambient Communications and Dragons) was behind CUTS. Following 2016's EXIST, a short film inspired by sleep paralysis and night terrors, as well as the subsequent release of its soundtrack, CUTS issued its debut full-length, A Gradual Decline. The album's title addresses environmental and political concerns, and the sound design incorporates recordings of ice breaking off from glaciers. While maintaining the dark, cinematic feel of past works, this is an entirely different affair altogether. The dark pop elements of previous releases are largely obscured, with shadowy vocals appearing seldomly. Blurring elements of post-rock, ambient, IDM, and neo-classical, the ambitious compositions often include airy guitars, which are occasionally covered in searing shoegaze distortion, as well as starry synth pulsations and suspensefully paced beats. The theme of decay and waste is masterfully interpreted through Tombling's skillful sonic manipulations, with inventive arrangements of rhythmic static and the sporadic presence of beats, which seem to crumble and dissolve yet remain steady enough to guide the tracks. The overall tone is tragic, desolate, and searching for solace, but it never feels overwhelmingly bleak, and ultimately, it doesn't seem devoid of hope. Highlights include the fractured quasi-dubstep of "Polar" and the intense "Kernel Panic," which waves between abrasive, skittering beats and passages of uneasy calm, but the entire album is a singular achievement worth experiencing.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
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