A Lull - Confetti

To listen to ‘Confetti’ is to look through a kaleidoscope, seeing crazy, intricate patterns interchanging and clashing, morphing into totally new shapes before returning to the beginning and zooming off in another direction, beautiful and endlessly beguiling. The band responsible for creating such a magical illusion are Chicago five-piece A Lull, who are intent on making an abstract art out of these endlessly swirling images and morphing melodies.

Many of the tracks on ‘Confetti - their debut album - revolve around a simple riff which builds up under its own energy which they barely manage to stop spiralling off out of control every time. In this respect they share a fascination with bands like Animal Collective and Mogwai of spinning a melody around until it takes off under its own momentum, with epic, almost trance-like results. The trick is that while their tracks are anchored in pulsating beats and repetition of hypnotic riffs, you can never second guess what direction A Lull are going to veer off in ultimately, so you’re constantly left reeling, dazed and bewitched in equal measures.

Vocals replicate the rhythm on opener ‘Weapons For War’, thunderous drums forming the backdrop for simplistic yet engaging riff which builds like a monsoon before the storm passes and the track fades out with rhythms of soothing, pattering rain. Time and again such jungle rhythms punctuate the tracks on ‘Confetti’ (not the 90s dance type of jungle, you understand, but your actual tribal bongos, monkeys and rattling insects sort of jungle). All this makes keeping still while the album plays out a near impossibility as you find yourself if not exactly dancing around at least swaying around as the uplifting rhythms grab a viciously tight hold of you.

As well as flirting with elements of world music, A Lull aren’t afraid to stick their necks out and write about subjects which don’t often find themselves at the top of a new band‘s ideas list, as well - take ‘Pregnancy’, for example, which imagines life as a foetus, with its gentle fluid melody floating around in a hypnotic state. Elsewhere ‘Water & Beasts’ crashes around like a wildebeest thrashing in a river, capturing the panic, anxiety and excitement in its incessant, driving heartbeat rhythm. ‘Phem’ is a delicious, luxurious and sensual track, a heady sensory overload bringing to mind a passionate embrace in an exotic setting, forbidden love in a world made strange. As you can surely tell, trying to pin down what A Lull are all about is a hopeless as attempting to swim away from a whirlpool, which is precisely what makes them such an tantalising proposition. They are a wondrous sum of many, many varied yet harmonious parts.

‘Confetti’ is an assured debut, the sound of a band not waivering for a moment in their glorious vision which although may not be unique, is certainly always captivating. It’s rare to find a new band so certain of how they want to sound, never faltering for a moment, their own confidence mirroring their relentless driving tempos and concrete-strong close harmonies. It’s an arresting, mighty sound which demands nothing less than your full attention.