Rachel Butt & Ed Critchley met at school in Coventry, but after a lengthy time apart became reacquainted in Brighton and formed GAPS. After a string of minimalistic releases, they made an unlikely pairing with legendary House DJ Maya Jane Coles making the brilliant In Day, In Dark EP and releasing their debut album In, Around The Moments on her I/AM/ME record label. GAPS mellow melancholic vibes merge folk ideas into a moreish blend of atmospheric electronic goodness, which is amazing when played live, but is it great on record?

 

A sound that Brightonians know only too well, seagulls and the sea, begins the album with the emerging sound of an ever clearer guitar and Rachel’s wistful voice becoming prominent. ‘Cascade’ is a lovely first track which turns into a beautiful amalgamation of sounds that come together in a delay driven beat. ‘I Know It’s You’ is a super laid back track – very minimal and clearly produced with bass note rumbles and a simple guitar melody that intertwines with the layered vocals in a brilliantly effective way. The fuller sound in ‘All The Days Are Now’ has an almost Japanese feel. The dramatic pulsing synth sounds, oriental sounding guitar, and beckoning lyrics could make it the perfect backing track to a Samurai film. ‘Inside Your Head’ is the first song on the album that has a bleak intensity to it. Along with the immersive sound of ‘When I’m Gone’, the album is starting to take a trip into uncertainty. The rolling bass line and echoing guitar makes it one of my highlights of the album. Their first single release, ‘Keep You’, stays in the same vain. Compiled by a number of home recordings, like much of the album, it steps into Techno territory with a full and heavy bassline making it the most danceable track.

 

‘A World Away’ has a definite Middle Eastern vibe about it. The way the vocals are sung and the effect of the guitar interplay creates a cinematic image that would be fitting to a scene in The Crusades, but it is bought back to the modern day with long deep bass note sounds. ‘All Me, All You’ is my favourite track on the album. Its uplifting dream like audio, sounds like it could seamlessly go on forever. Rachel’s ethereal voice hits celestial heights as it overlaps the songs melody with lovely words that fits the vibe perfectly. Bellowing bass lines and 2step drumbeat are an unusual match for their “folk” genre, but fits so well in ‘Your Own Sweet Time’ which takes a more melancholic tone. The final two tracks, ‘In Around The Moments’ and ‘What Makes You’ complete the album as it started – in a calm and atmospheric tone that is a wash of rich textures and heavenly vocals.

 

GAPS music has a nocturnal sound to be listened to just before the sun rises. The enveloping and mesmerizing beats sound as if they have travelled from a faraway world to come and take you away from reality for a blissful moment. The duo have constantly kept releasing songs that quickly become my new favourites, and the album is no different.

Iain Lauder