Belong: Shimmering beauty in a cup, goes with the photo I took I guess

Belong-Common Era (8)

Belong, an eclectic duo of sound abusers comprised of Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones, have been creating soundscapes for a steady eight years now, producing high fidelity experiences with abstract sound and experimental concepts in sound design, winning them plaudits and devotees alike. In a nod to the absolute majesty of the artist Christian Fennez, Belong source sounds from a six string, whilst bolstering their palette with real world samples, all manipulated with their mastery of the digital sound design process.

Common Era is the first offering for five years from Belong, which for any person whose preferred bands aren’t entirely prolific in their output, this can be frustrating. This considered however, it tends to be this refusal to pepper the annals of music with continual albums can often be a band that doesn’t provide quality. It’s not always the case, just often the case. In this situation though, the wait has been painful, but the payoff so much sweeter. Absence really makes the heart grow fonder

Here is an album dripping in sound. The haunting vocal lines, slightly flattened and residing in a minor key are a welcome addition into a musical subset that usually rejects or buries vocals to the back and bottom of the mix, but here they’re given due position. There is a common held fallacy that digital music isn’t real, that the artists don’t actually play anything. It’s an immature notion espoused by those with a tenuous grip on what constitutes aptitude for music. Belong possess a mastery of a guitar envied by all that ‘know’ what they are doing and push the boundaries of just what can be wrought from the instrument.

For those looking to spread their wings a little, Common Era will not change your world, but it’ll go a long way in educating it.