Back to Life

Personnel: Steve Roach (synthesizer).
Recording information: The Eagle's Nest; The Timeroom.
The constant flow that is Steve Roach's creative life in motion continues into 2012 with the release of another double-disc effort. Back to Life is very much one of Roach's more restrained and meditative releases; here his trademark texturing and layering of electronic elements seek to flow mysteriously instead of suggesting full-on sonic doom or empty spaces at the end reaches of the universe. If there's a sense of the haunting in "Cloud Cover," it's more in the realm of atmospherics rather than lingering dread, while "Tranquility Base" lives up to its pun of a title -- it may be set on a moonscape but it's a relaxed visit. The short, sweeter feeling of "Touchstones" acts as a bit of a contrast to "Mist of Perception" on a key front -- the latter is another one of Roach's CD-length compositions at a full 70 minutes. The uninterrupted progression of the song sums up the feeling of the first disc and extends it, and if it makes Back to Life yet another long and involved Steve Roach disc, as with so many of his releases it's a thoroughly enjoyable result. ~ Ned Raggett