Oliver Coates – Throb, shiver, arrow of time

Oliver Coates returns from soundtrack work still doing what he does best; cello-forward pieces of sculptural, sublime beauty.

Album Review by Joe Creely | 14 Oct 2024
  • Oliver Coates – Throb, shiver, arrow of time
Album title: Throb, shiver, arrow of time
Artist: Oliver Coates
Label: RVNG Intl.
Release date: 18 Oct

Due to his prolific soundtrack work, you may well be a fan of Oliver Coates without realising it. If you were one of many that had their hearts shredded by Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun you have his score to thank for giving the film a lot of its spectral, flickering atmosphere. But alongside this, Coates has released a stream of sublime albums of cello and electronics, works that have quietly shaped into one of the finest bodies of work of the last decade.

This record picks up where his Aftersun score left off – attempts to capture the fleeting, elusive terrain of memory, but with a broader sonic palette, incorporating further electronics, and a more expansive use of space into his pre-existing sound. This is a well worn territory, and the likes of Shopping centre curfew and 90, while inarguably pretty, do feel there is little setting them apart from the countless other producers making wistful, gently nostalgic ambient.

However, when his cello playing is foregrounded as it is on most of the record, he remains a composer of astonishing tenderness. Radiocello sounds like it could play as the earth is eaten by the sun, but even at its most colossal maintains a centre that feels human and miniscule. But Coates’ compositions remain most beautiful at their most minimal – the gently interlocking lines of Please be normal or the swooping motif of Ultra valid – hit an absolute sweet spot of yearning, regret, pain and hope. It’s another strong showing from Coates who is shaping into one of the moving composers of his generation.

Listen to: Please be normal, Ultra valid, Backprint radiation

http://olivercoates.com