Album Review: Brunei by Vinyl Williams

On his 2015 album Into, Vinyl Williams expanded the scope of his arrangements, added some new colors to his sonic palette, and morphed his space rock-shoegaze-chillwave sound into something almost epic. The range of sounds and styles Williams delved into on the album was impressive, jumping from Motorik jams to disco, then to new wave and new age-y soundscapes. The follow-up, 2016's Brunei, is a much more focused affair, with Williams settling into a late-night, chilled to just above freezing mode and rarely going much further.

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Is it possible that the cyclical nature of modern pop music has sped up and doubled back on itself to the point of time essentially collapsing in on itself? While it’s 2016, it might as well be 2010 or 2005 or 2000 or even 1995 based on the speed at which younger and younger groups are reviving styles that served as demarcation points within the industry. From the grunge revivalists, to those rehashing emo’s better elements, to what now appears to be a hypnogogic pop revival. A brief blip on the musical radar, hypnogogic pop was characterized by its ephemeral, unintelligible lyrics, swirling, vintage-sounding percussion and use of drums as the gently driving force.

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