Lung Dart – Slouching Towards Meridian

The ‘Rest Zone’ in the Millennium Dome was designed so that visitors could lie down and let soft, pulsating lights drift over them as a soundtrack designed to be 1000 years long washed across the area. Though the Rest Zone has since vanished, its lasting impact on experimental duo Lung Dart (whose first experience of ambient music was within the installation) emerges on their latest album, Slouching Towards Meridian.

Although the Rest Zone’s composition may have been designed to last a millennia, Slouching Towards Meridian contains some of Lung Dart’s most pacey work to date; only one track breaks the six-minute mark, while most last less than three. The effect of this is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, new ideas are only just around the corner; woozy vocals (How?), fragile, melancholic piano (Gazing) and even strident streaks of electronic sound (Papez) all inhabit this condensed space. Yet, ideas can seem transitory, not allowing each track’s atmosphere to fully embed itself.

It’s perhaps somewhat telling that the longest track on the album, 6am (Ambient Mix), is also its most engaging, taking its time to develop from sweeping synth waves to more urgent beats and a flurry of soulful brass. Slouching Towards Meridian contains moments of beauty; they’re just often a bit too fleeting.

Listen to: 6am (Ambient Mix)