Hailing from Ontario, Timeless Void – Alex Hilson (Flute, Guitar, Bass & Vocals) and Eric St-Pierre (Production, Guitar, Vocals, Bass) – set out to weave a dense fabric of haunting, otherworldly psychedelic rock. The band’s devotion to their self-assigned quest to create a unique and powerful sound brought them close in nature to acts such as Pink Floyd, The Flaming Lips or Jethro Tull, yet they share a keen eye for melody and song-writing with artists such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan or The Beatles at their more experimental.
Following 2013’s effort “Getting By”, the band is back with “Voidland”, a brand new studio album featuring 18 unpredictable tracks. The album also features Young Coconut – (Guitar, Ethereal Grove; wrote The Right Foot).
There is something about “Voidland” that captures the essence of sixties acid-psychedelic era. The inspired vocals, raw guitars laced with feedback and the wonderful flute which combine to make this album more than the sum of its parts. If you lived through the sixties and tripped to similar groovy sounds you will know why “Voidland” may deserve the accolade of ‘Classic Acid’.
More than any other currently released album I can think of, “Voidland” captures that essence of the 60’s rather authentically . It’s unpretentious sound and the absence of band “posturing” (common with so many groups of that era) allows the listener to time-travel back to those days and glimpse at what it was all about.
Timeless Void has perfectly captured the acid sound of the 60s without sounding the least bit derivative or precious; brilliant, dense layers of studio psychedelia but without the solid beat. Meaning Timeless Void totally drop the drums. You’ll find guitars, basses, vocals, flutes, echoes and reverbs, but no drums; which is probably what gives this band their peculiar sound. It’s like acid meets shoegaze or trippy dream-pop in some instances.
If you love acid or psychedelic sounds, you must get hold of this. The realization of this updated aural assault from those styles, sans drums, is far better than I could have possibly imagined. The 18 tracks on “Voidland” pay homage to the 60s and 70s, arguably the best two decades in music history and is sincerely convincing as if you found it in your grandparents attic.
From the moment you hit the opening track, Blueberry Dreams and move through standouts like Unplug & Unwire, Kill the King (Free the Land), Long for Home (Tizita), Passing Time, Syd the Kid, Truth & Salvation, Ethereal Grove and Reason with The Creator you’ll be shrouded in a heavy cloud of effected instrumentation with little time to come up for air.
It’s fair to say that if your taste in vocalists prefers character and evocative emotion over typical beauty and technical ability, the voices here delivers by the shovel loads. The bulk of the album’s credibility lies, however, in its instrumental elements, and it is here where Alex Hilson and Eric St-Pierre typically shine.
Their sound is mesmerizing and hypnotic, while great guitar licks supplement the rhythms that are sprinkled throughout. There is a depth of symbolism in some songs and a more overt meaning in others. And despite the fact that Timeless Void can best be categorized as acid or psychedelic, there is a lot more going on (with a lot less instruments too!).
Dim the lights, turn up “Voidland”, and let the music wash over you. This group and particularly this recording are tremendous finds. For the modern-day beat-freaks and autotuned brigade, it may take a little while to fully sink in, but like the effects of a good wine, when it does, this haunting acid-rock music is thoroughly intoxicating.
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