After
Beacon's year-long run of performances in support of The Ways We Separate, during which the duo's shadowy debut album naturally took on a more intense form, they recorded
L1, an EP that gave prominence to increased tempos and relatively fidgety percussion. The contrast between the album and
Escapements isn't quite as severe. The average BPM is higher through some rhythms that embrace springy house and flirt discreetly with rattling trap, but
Escapements nonetheless plays best for an audience of no more than two -- pensive individuals who, like
Beacon lyricist/vocalist Thomas Mullarney III, might refer to celestial mathematics or slowly degrading clock mechanisms when detailing the breakdown of a romance. Even when the physicality of Jacob Gossett's layered productions reach a peak, Mullarney likewise maintains an intimate approach. His projections are often no louder than whispers directed at someone within inches, yet his voice is never drowned out, not even on "Cure," where he drifts over a knot of bounding bass, glints of synthesizer, and frenetic percussion. The jittering "L1" reappears here, and with its despairing and claustrophobic sentiments ("On this track we spin around/I'm stuck in reverse"), it's almost as emblematic of the album as the elegantly dejected title track ("Never knew how to breathe/Without you near"). Those tracks also play off one another, illustrating the good and bad effects of losing oneself in a relationship. Other songs are colored with words and phrases of despair and resignation, like "doubt," "losing my grip," and "let's just break up." If the productions weren't so richly detailed and deceptively varied,
Escapements might be a stifling experience. [
Escapements was also released on LP.] ~ Andy Kellman