An Experimental, Genre-Bending Release From Adel Music Club
- R.A.G.
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Adel Music Club has a release that you absolutely need to hear, especially if you're into the underground '90s aesthetic that blends grungy rock with electronic and symphonic elements.
The Golden Acres album bends genres freely by bringing together bright and infectious synths and keys, and fat, fuzz-tone guitars, all in combination with a semi-spacious underbelly that creates ambience and robust atmospheres for you to swim through.
Saying that this record is experimental would be an understatement. It's beautifully put together, and there is a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the production, but there is also a carefree sort of songwriting approach that lets the record breathe and branch out.
The release is absolutely something that boasts many fewer boundaries than the norm, and I found that to be incredibly refreshing, but at the same time, they do give this 90's aesthetic, so it was strangely nostalgic as well.
This, to me, was a brilliant combination and pulled me right into the record.
The whole thing kicks off with the track called "Chunky Powers", which is built off those distorted, grungy guitars, layered and giving a thickness, along with digital beats and great progressions that sort of flow in a forward moving manner.
Some of the guitars have this reverb effect on them, which gives a lot of depth and has an amazing way of swallowing you.
It is super easy to get engulfed by records like this one, not just because of the tones that are coming out of it and how you get pulled into them, but also because of how fast it all seems.
"Tbass" starts bringing us even further into the experimental phase with an electronic backbone, keys that feel like they're from the mid-90s or early '80s, and a beat that seems like it's from a classic 303 or even 808 beat machine.
The synths have some great effects on them, are you kind of Ever Changing in terms of their tonality, and have a delay effect that let them overlap each other
This was a colorful track, but it also felt sort of cinematic simultaneously. Once again, they deliver these layers that invite you to sort of float alongside.
"Melt In The Clouds" is the more symphonic track that features a whole set of orchestrated strings set in a loop with effects on them, hints of percussive underbelly, and this one really sends you off and into thought.
They have this track running through a sort of old-radio effect, and it feels like you're listening to a record that's skipping in a sense.
That's part of the idea. The whole backbone of this is to let you drift off and sort of feel the emotion of the piece of music, but also let it wrap around you.
I found this to be an elegant piece, and it still has that little hint of edginess, and its approach as well, probably because of the record or radio-like feel that they put over it, along with how the strings are playing this melody on repeat.
"Break Beats Nothing" is a bit of a banger, has an upbeat swing, and features some classic beats as well. This one has a funk groove to it, hence the break beat in the title, and it really hits with a perfect energy. It's not overdone, but perfectly balanced so that it has that same kind of forward-moving flow, but also makes you want to dance.
By the time you get to this point on the record, you realize that they're just branching out wherever they want to. As I mentioned earlier, there are not really a lot of walls built around this piece of work, and that's part of why it feels so good to listen to.
The whole thing is chock-full of surprises, and that's part of the fun.
"Blue Skies" has a lot of tripped-out elements to it. There's this sort of vocal coming in and out that has a delay effect on it; it's very beneath some of the elements of instrumentation and chopped up in a glitch-like effect.
This one also breeds an atmosphere that's all its own, as each song seems to do.
There is a strange sort of confluence or consistency that the whole record boasts as well, but for the most part, you never really know what to expect next, except for the fact that it's going to be something invasively fun and outside the box in terms of its thinking.
This feels like a whole lot of fun production-wise, and it's not something that you should miss, simply because we all need to have music that lets us expand our minds a little bit.
This is a record that makes you think and can sort of set your mind free as it plays through. Each listener will interpret these songs a little differently, which is also part of the fun, and I suggest listening to this entire thing with headphones on so you can soak in all the different kinds of emotion and depth that it provides.
Upon listening to the record, we wanted to have a sit-down with Adel Music Club to find out more about where this record came from, the history of the band, and what may be coming up next.
Have a read through of our interview with the group while you listen to this record, and you will definitely not be sorry anytime soon.
Hey guys! Where did this record come from exactly?
The record is a collection of music we made between about 1992 and 1994, but which was never released at the time. As we've been more active since about 2020 we've had a few releases out. Our releases are mostly about memory and nostalgia as we're celebrating those days past, but also other things we've lost such as our youth, family, and family homes, some of those things that can anchor us.
Did you record this at a big studio, or home DAW setup?
It was recorded to 4-track cassette tape in the 1990s, but revived using a home DAW setup. The actual recordings were often in unusual places like a bathroom to try and capture different acoustics.
Did you self produce the release?
Yes, it was self produced. We are very indebted to Thomas Ragsdale/Sulk Rooms for mixing the track 'Chunky Powers' and for Antony Ryan at RedRedPaw for mastering and making it all sound so good.
Who are some of you bigger musical influences?
At the time of the 1990s, we were very influenced by My Bloody Valentine and shoegaze, but there were also influences from dub reggae and electronic music.
Are you touring or playing shows right now?
We're not, but it would be good to get back together for some live performance.
Was this recorded live? It has a live performance kind of energy to it!
It was mostly live and jammed to tape, but in some cases we played multiple instruments.
Do you guys write songs together, or is it one main songwriter who comes to the rest of the band with ideas?
We make things as jams and then sort of arrange and mix afterwards. Although sometimes we have a basic melody idea and just build from that.
What can you say people can expect from the record?
It's a bit of a mixed collection, but we still think it all sounds like us. We hope people enjoy it!
Now that this is out, what's next for the band?
It would be great to get back together and make some more music, where geography and time allows.
How did this all start for you as a band?
We met at school but then also went to Leeds School of Art & Design, where making visual art but also music to accompany that went hand in hand. It was a really creative time.
Before we go, what would you want to express to fans of the music?
The support means the world to us. As a band we've been touched by illness in the family and Alzheimer's Disease, so our music often deals with memory but also helps us to remember those we've lost. We hope it can be a comfort to people as well.
Comments