Rumour Cubes – Appearances of Collections

Oh, this is a beauty. Don’t let it get lost in the bewildering murk of the release calendar, or side-lined by the fickle fancies of the taste-makers. Seek it out. For Appearances of Collections is a far-reaching and fearless work, a dizzying instrumental adventure whose orchestral origins are given form and flight by the addition of traditional pop/rock instrumentation and the subtlest electronica.

The London-based six-piece gave notice of their vision and reach with their 2012 debut, The Narrow State; this follow-up is stronger, more cohesive, more attuned to the very particular talents of its creators. It welds the chamber pop of Ólafur Arnalds or Michael Nyman to a rhythmic nous that brings to mind the rich beats of Remember Remember. It is also, most notably on the devastating A Homecoming, in which a rich wordless narrative is revealed, a deeply emotional work; one that connects on a level far beyond mere technique.