Equally inspired by the spectral jazz of
Alice Coltrane and the ambient minimalism of artists like
Harold Budd or
William Basinski, shoegaze master
Andy Bell and English harp/electronics duo
Masal teamed up to create the four lingering instrumentals that comprise
Tidal Love Numbers. The musicians met when they played a show together in 2022, and they bonded in particular over how moved they all were by
Pharoah Sanders and
Floating Points' collaborative 2021 album
Promises. While not quite as spartan as
Promises could sometimes be,
Tidal Love Numbers communicates in a similar emotional language, expressing glimmers of hope, fear, disappointment, and acceptance in its drawn-out, meditative soundscapes. The four pieces here all have longer than usual titles (inspired by
Felt's tendency for wordy titles) like "The Slight Unease of Seeing a Crescent Moon in Blue Midday Sky," zeroing in on specifics that might not be directly apparent in the free-form songs themselves. While these titles sometimes offer a road map,
Tidal Love Numbers' real gift for expression comes in the brilliant arrangements. While the songs meander, they're intentional and restrained, waiting for precise moments to introduce new sounds or shift the overall dynamics. "Murmuration of Warm Dappled Light on Her Back After Swimming" is the album's longest track, but even at nearly 15 minutes long it never drags. This is due to how thoughtfully the song is paced, gliding through sections of
Al Johnson's cloudy electronics and
Bell's pulsating guitar loops before creating a clearing for
Ozlem Simsek's harp to become the main focus. Later in the song, a similar space is made for a pronounced synth lead to come out of nowhere and guide the tune through its next transition. This careful construction happens throughout the album, the trio sometimes pitting fuzzy guitar noise against angelic harp plucks, and even building into an anthemic rhythm on the
Ashra-reminiscent closing track, "A Pyramid Hidden by Centuries of Neon Green Undergrowth." While the familiar songwriting voice
Bell brought to so many
Ride songs can be heard faintly in the more melodically driven tracks, the album feels like a very even collaboration between the three players. It's hard not to think of ambient harpist and composer
Mary Lattimore's work in the delay-washed harp sounds, which are nicely adorned by
Johnson's ever-changing electronics and
Bell's adventurous guitar tones. While it's not quite the spiritual ambient jazz that initially inspired it,
Tidal Love Numbers occupies a beautiful separate space of its own making, inviting listeners to walk along on its quiet quest for understanding. ~ Fred Thomas