Vague Lanes
Divergence & Declaration
Viasonde
Bay Area duo Vague Lanes is made up of Mike Cadoo (of celebrated industrial act Gridlock, and boss of abstract electronic label n5md) and Badger McInnes, and features both members on bass, with the former playing melodic six-string, and the latter on 4-string rhythm duties. Their sophomore LP Divergence & Declaration favours a pensive, atmospheric sound that recalls both the ethereal movement of the 90s and the post-rock inflected sounds of mid-2000s acts like I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness and These New Puritans. It’s a record of very precise moods, that finds a balance between regimented rhythms and more fluid sounds.
One aspect of Vague Lanes’ approach that is both a benefit and a hindrance is the strong uniformity of its musical palette. The density of its textures and the consistency of its design make it an enveloping listen and creates some geniunely intense moments; the climax of “Weight of Days” is as heavy as its title suggests, and arrives in such natural fashion that arrangement of synth pads, vocals and crashing electronic drums that feel inevitable, like something that had to happen. Alternately there are moments where the songs get lost in the production, like on closer “Exo”, where the melody in its pads, vocals and lead bass part is hard to separate from many of the earlier songs of a similar tempo. That said, there’s some cannily placed combo-breakers that give the album some flow, such as the loose shoegazey sway of “Cellophane” and the fluttering synthlines that accent “At the Edge”, providing some dynamics in the early and late portions of the record respectively.
One especially notable aspect of the LP is the compelling nature of Cadoo’s vocal work, which provides much of the record’s character. Followers of his work will know that his work as Dryft and bitcrush was instrumental, and while he certainly acquitted himself on Vague Lanes’ 2022 debut Foundation and Divergence, he sings here with a reassuring evenness that compliments the sound design’s constancy. On tracks like opener “Heptahedron” (which also features some drumwork from industrial man-about-town Martin Atkins) he leans in and pulls back during the transition between sections, staying grounded even as the song’s other waves of reverb and cracking snares rush around him. Elsewhere, on the propulsive “Unraveling” his baritone sets the table for the ascending emotion of its back half, establishing its yearning desperation and then laying back as the song drifts ever upwards.
A record like Divergence & Declaration is always going to be one whose appeal lies in how well its tenor matches the listener’s own feelings. The steady pacing and the melancholic (if not elegiac) tone is so much a part of it that you’d be hard-pressed to want to throw it on in casually; wanting to hear it is a deliberate choice, a quality that mirrors the records own intentionality. It’s a well-made and admirably considered effort that presents Vague Lanes’ musical vision in complete fashion.
