Leyland Kirby - Breaks My Heart Each Time

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  • The Caretaker is no more, but two tracks on Leyland Kirby's first EP for Apollo are proof that he hasn't given up on the enthralling ambient music synonymous with that name. The two beatless tracks on Breaks My Heart Each Time are relatively sparse synth pieces. On the title track, cloudy synth and string melodies eddy around one another, and the effect is melancholic and invigorating in equal measure. "Diminishing Emotion" is lonelier and more poignant. Its synths, clearer but more subdued, trail through empty space like snatches of half-lost memory. Rather than gaining momentum or reaching resolution, the few elements waft aimlessly. The beat-driven tracks are a jarring counterpoint. "Last Ditch Legacy" chimes with both the recent trend for rave nostalgia and Kirby's own longstanding engagement with memory, but the grotty rave synths, dull groove and fleshless beats make for a rather generic sound that only becomes less interesting over its seven-plus minutes. "Staring Down The Sun" is more dynamic, with noodly acid lines, gaseous hisses and jumbles of drums. Sounding as though they've been caked in dust or dredged from murk, the percussion and synths jostle for space, aptly resembling the mind's haphazard patchwork of memories.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Breaks My Heart Each Time A2 Last Ditch Legacy B1 Diminishing Emotion B2 Staring Down The Sun
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