Elon Musk – .​.​.​As Your Wanderer Taps At The Invisible Gate

Elon Musk (the band, not the Paypal co-founder turned Space explorer) describes themselves as “exploring the cosmic frequencies… a space cruise through fuzz and phase.” There is little additional flair that one could add to that summary that would be at all necessary. They nailed it.

On their latest release, entitled .​.​.​As Your Wanderer Taps At The Invisible Gate, the band embarks on a sprawling 37-minute single-track journey. On the face of it, you’d call it Post-Rock; ebbing and flowing through quiet moments that eventually give way to large outbursts. However, that’s a broad stroke that undersells the enjoyable details. The aforementioned fuzz and phase is ever present, combined with warbling distortion, droning bass and pounding drums that are offset by empty voids of delicate entropy. The four movements of the record work well as a cohesive piece but are careful to introduce new elements and styles so the listener isn’t lulled into a repetitive place.

The Bandcamp tab has been sitting open in my browser since the albums release in mid-March of 2020 as it’s not an album you want to hear just once. It’s also accompanied by a full album video “edited together from mostly Stan Brakhage/Terrence Malick Films” – serving as a wonderful visual companion to jaunt across the cosmic frequencies.

The bands record release show at The 5 Spot was cancelled due to viral concerns. Hopefully once we return to some normalcy with live shows in venues again, they can rebook as it’d be a shame not to see this live. In the meantime, turn down the lights, turn on the visual album and go forth.