The companion piece to February’s Themes For Dying Earth arrives at the cusp of winter. Whereas his previous effort this year referred to the turn of the year and the move away from the death of winter – the thawing of icy mornings and scuppering of frost-laden walkways – this one seamlessly moves towards the winter, perhaps acting as a summary of the year and celebration. Teen Daze, along with a host of other artists including Moon Duo, seems to have made use of the dual-volume approach to releasing works; telling musical stories that run in tangent to one another, offering a narrative and ideology as well as a musical course.

As with his earlier release, the Canadian, Jamison Isaak, works with the exploration of open space in his soft-synths sounds. The album speaks to the open visuals and landscapes of films such as Sean Baker’s The Florida Project and Andrea Arnold’s American Honey; it works to explore soundscapes, landscapes and vast ethereal openings. Tracks such as ‘On The Edge Of A New Age’ lull and swell through cataclysms of intricate guitar and idyllic melodies, whereas ‘An Alpine Forest’ commands upon hazes of subtle electronica.

Isaak’s Twitter feed is filled with musical escapes which are juxtaposed with his cries for gun control and despair with the current US political administration. It’s certainly not that his music is overtly political but, what it offers, is a political sedative that feels long overdue; it’s a sedative that doesn’t work with catharsis, but one that offers total escape without the need for anguish.

As Pitchfork previously pointed out, Isaak referred to the RPG console game Stardew Valley as a point of his influence with Themes For Dying Earth – a game that took the player out into the open countryside to explore, adventure and ultimately survive. Pristine, snow-laden mountaintops and sprawling fields detailed the game’s visuals and Isaak’s music found a similar sensibility that longed for the serene. Themes For A New Earth certainly follows that album’s lead.

The album’s longest song, ‘Station’, runs at 5:38 long and feels like the beating heart of this next step forward; once again playing on intricacies and gesturing movements, it grows and retracts as a sound, acting merely as a soothing cushion for your woes. ‘Kilika’ perhaps finds the most movement and rhythm as a track, as guitars angle around keys and a steady snare, whereas ‘Prophets’ stands as the final call to meditation and calmness and ‘Echoes’ acts as the twinkling gem just before.

What Isaak’s music continues to do here isn’t particularly obvious on first listen; it doesn’t massively progress from this year’s earlier release – still operating around the same electronic minimalism but this time it even strips it back further making no room for vocals. Where it succeeds though isn’t with its musical progressiveness but is actually in how it continues to offer something that very few other artists provide. You see, Themes For A New Earth works on a lilt of calmness and a desperate search for a vaccination against the everyday rush, push and struggle of life. It works on escapism, not just aurally but through visuals and creating an actual ‘headspace’ (I know, 2017’s buzzword if there was one but hear me out) – in a time when every health guide and lifestyle magazine is promoting the need for headspace and meditation, Themes For A New Earth finds a very important void and fills it.

This album and its earlier counterpart should be really and truly celebrated. They are successes beyond music, and actually stand as important tools to deal with de-stressing and finding a plateau of calmness in life when needed. The appeal is irresistible and the weightless guide to Themes For A New Earth on the likes of ‘River Walk’ is essential. A double album of 2017 that must be heard.

Tom Churchill

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