Liberation

Liberation

S/t

Night School

Liberation is the latest evolution by David West, a dedicated underground dweller and traveler with his groups Rat Columns and Rank / Xerox who has also been spotted in Lace Curtain and Total Control. Familiar elements of West’s songwriting creep out from the speakers this time around, albeit in a more adventurous and personal manner—swathed in analog and FM synths, pinned down by near-funk drum machines, and with a vision expanded into the past and future.  In previous incarnations, West’s alienated and fragile vocals have battled with jangling guitars and distortion, but Liberation sets free his woes and ruminations into space. Taking inspiration from the heyday of Mute Records and electronic dance music’s early experiments with sampling, Liberation’s debut LP is ten songs of the road, about the nameless ghosts on the highway, accidental lovers, the alienation of the stranger in a strange land, the unbearable weight of freedom. Esteemed engineer Mikey Young’s (Total Control / Eddy Current Suppression Ring) production prowess makes for a distilled yet inviting loneliness.