Floating Points albums
a.k.a.: Sam Shepard
Biggest Influences:
Brian Eno, Tortoise, The Orb
2015
ELAENIA – 91%
Influenced by some of the better post-rock artists around, Sam Shepherd’s Floating Points project subtly knocks out any competition in terms of electronic album of the year. The jazz influence of opener “Nespole” recall’s Tortoise’s TNT meets the cosmic synth waves of Klaus Schulze. The multitrack “Silhouettes I,II,III” moves from nervous energy to mind-bellowing calm with ease, all over the course of eleven minutes, sort of like if Flying Lotus was able to condense all of his good ideas into a cohesive whole instead of multi-fragments.
“Argente” and “Thin Air” are basically the same track – one played normal and one dissected and played at random, not simply backwards like most would do. Only the title song “Elaenia” fails to satisfy, coming off as rather slow and not as well thought out as the other tracks. Saving the best for last, “For Marmish” perfects the pseudo-jazz of the opening track to open new doorways for the future in progressive rock and closer “Peroration Six” used diminished chords to their full unnerving effect, ending in one of the most abrupt yet satisfying ways I have ever heard. In a word – Astonishing.
Greatest Songs: For Marmish, Silhouettes, Peroration Six
2021
Promises – 73%
- basically a jazz / classical piece
Compilations