7 Cornelius – Mellow Waves (Indietronica, Indie Pop)

Since Keigo Oyamada’s (aka Cornelius’) exuberant, and genre-defining magnum opus, 1997’s Fantasma, he has been on a trajectory away from the density, complexity, and restless energy that defined his work in the 90s. From the more sonically stripped-down follow-up, 2001’s Point, to his last album, the borderline sleepy Sensuous in 2006, Cornelius has been teasing a move towards more ambient and dreamy shores for almost two decades now. With Mellow Waves, his first album in eleven years, that promise is finally delivered upon.

Defined by minimalistic, bright synth tones, and crystal-clear guitar lines, Mellow Waves is the sonic equivalent of clean white linen hanging on a line during a breezy summer day. The sonic palette is immaculate, and warm (with a few notable exceptions), in a way that plays to both Keigo’s greatest strengths, and his greatest weaknesses. The clarity of Keigo’s production proves once and for all that he is one of the greatest musicians to have touched the boards. It’s vision, scope, and clarity are mesmerizing. The way he seems to find an endless amount of nooks and crannies to fill with synthetic whizzes, or gently panned acoustic guitar notes, is unparalleled. Spilling the songs over with creativity, but never once compromising the overall minimalistic aesthetic. Complex soundscapes are reduced to their barest components in a way that still feels rich and fulfilling.

The problem that arises though, is that on albums like Fantasma and Point, the sonic complexity was the songwriting in many ways. Songs developed with new layers of complexity, and explosions of color. Now Keigo has denied himself that option, leaving some of the songs on Mellow Waves feeling more like formless soundscapes than bonafide “songs”.

Where it works though, that sense of Cornelius bliss is unmatched, and even where it doesn’t, it remains as some of the best-produced music you’ll hear in years.