Same Waves + Hibernis: Designations: Dunes
Hefty

In the mid-2000s, John Hughes' Hefty Records was riding high with releases by Telefon Tel Aviv (Map of What is Effortless), L'altra (Different Days), and Slicker (We All Have a Plan) bringing the label deserved attention. While much has changed since then, the digital-only Designations: Dunes confirms that Hughes (aka Slicker) and Lindsay Anderson (L'altra co-leader) remain creatively vital artists, in this case as collaborators under both the Same Waves and Hibernis monikers. That the release features material by two aliases is at first puzzling, but a single listen to the release's six tracks—two credited to Same Waves and the rest to Hibernis—is all that's needed to clarify the reason. It's not the first release the two have issued together, by the way, with Algorithm of Desire (Same Waves) and Middle of the Meds (Hibernis) appearing separately in 2018 on flau and Serein, respectively.

Designations: Dunes draws for inspiration from Kobo Abé's The Woman in the Dunes, but no familiarity with the ‘60s novel is needed to get something out of the forty-five-minute release. With the duo's sounds augmented by violin (Macie Stewart), vibraphone (Rick Embach), guitar (Bill MacKay), and upright bass (Nick Macri), the tracks are rich and evocative. Without wishing to be too reductive, the Hibernis material gravitates to abstraction and soundscaping, whereas Same Waves hews more to accessible song structures with lead vocals prominent. In the former category, “Hope” opens the release with a sprawling soundscape built from wordless vocals and atmospheric guitar textures; whereas “Water Trap” presents a warbly, collage-styled amalgam, “Rope Ladder” differentiates itself from the other Hibernis pieces when a voice-over notification about a missing person emerges halfway through. At thirteen minutes, the slow-as-molasses “Windows” opts for dazed time-suspension with electric guitar shadings rumbling alongside synth, violin, and vocal textures and an ever-mutating flow of field recording details and other sounds.

With Anderson's always-alluring voice front and centre, Same Waves' “Radio Mirror” could be a L'altra production, so reminiscent is it melodically and instrumentally of the group's alt-pop sound. Electric piano, synthesizer, drums, and electronic textures provide an expansive backdrop for her lyrics, which one tends to focus on less for their content and more for her emotive delivery. The lines separating the aliases blur during “Full Weight” when the eleven-minute meditation underlays her delicate musings with dense ambient-drone drift and couples it with creaking electronics and willowy flutes; six minutes in, however, the material re-brands itself as Same Waves when the elements cohere into song-styled verses, their melodies plaintive and Anderson's voice strong and expressive.

August 2020