Erasers: Constant Connection | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- The strains of kosmische Whadjuk/Perth are once again emanating from that far flung place. In particular one little synth-cult called Erasers and their new record, Constant Connection.

Quasi-religious, ritualistic, devotional, are words that very often get bandied about in reference to the duo of Rebecca Orchard and Rupert Thomas. These qualities seem more in evidence on their latest album, even omnipresent.

In the course of the three most recent records the pair have put out, I’ve noticed that they are obsessed with their very specific sound and, if anything, it’s been refined to a kind of austere minimum on their latest. Erasers themselves call it “...an open language based on drone, variation in repetition and minimal song structures.” Which I guess is in reference to the improv they do over the top of the kraut beats. In the process however, they’ve boiled that musical backing down to its utter fundaments. Sometimes I really did feel like I was in church, listening to plainchant.

I guess that church would be a ‘church of the earth’, outside of their music you’ll often find Erasers talking about “evoking the vast expanse of their natural landscape”, and the quasi-mystical awe which can be found in the West Australian desert, one which is a natural fit for the hypnotic qualities of their music. Even the three music videos I’ve seen for Constant Connection feature the duo gently swaying against the backdrop of the natural splendour of the region. Yet, in the music itself, Orchard, as the lyricist, chooses to be much harder to read. In the liner notes -which are as informative as the music is cryptic- her process is described as “...words becoming chants and spells that suggested themselves to the singer during recording sessions. This hidden hand of improvisatory, automatic writing that lends a sense of expanse to the music.”

It’s just another mystical quality to add to the pile of such things for one of the world’s most mystical bands. Listening to the lyrics of the song I Understand: “Delay his hand from power / I understand / The road is clear / Increase the fear / Your road is clear / I understand” - well, I’m not sure I do understand, but I increasingly realise that is not the point. Like a zen koan it's not about the answer, but rather the mesmeric contemplation of the experience. It’s one, in this day and age, that few other bands can give you.

- Chris Cobcroft.