I’ve always loved hearing strong and active bass lines in music. It started with the black gospel music I heard in the Pentecostal church of my childhood. Tremulous bass runs signaled that a big vamp had arrived, and that would start the congregation dancing. I could very well be biased toward a good low end, seeing as I played low brass instruments for several years including marching band, concert band, and jazz band.
Good music across all genres requires high-quality bass work as the foundation for the melodic root of a song. Strong bass lines serve as the girders for the arrangements and the supporting infrastructure for the compositional themes. A resolute bass section can stabilize a piece of music, deliver essential counterpoint, fill out the necessary sonic spaces, and more.
You need a good bass as your base.
Imagine my joy when I dove into Horizons, the newest album by Fotoform. Released on Dismal Nitch, this nine-song album melds ‘80s post-punk glower with shimmering ‘90s alt-rock to glorious results. Elements of The Cure, Siouxie and the Banshees, Slowdive, and Pale Saints combine to create gorgeous, spectral atmospheres. Imagine M83’s Saturdays = Youth, but bass-led and slightly more brooding.
The liquid and luxurious bass guitar work of Kim House forms the absolute core of this project. Her figures, movements, and phrasings overflow with heady gothic sensibilities that sets and perpetuates the mood of the music. She leads with intention, but not flash, as her superb tone is perfect for pointed edges and dreamy transitions.
House pairs elegant bass licks with her ethereal soprano vocals and haunting lyrics.
Instead of being soaked in reverb to the point of oblivion, her voice sits up front in the mix, allowing you to actually understand her words. While her heart is worn firmly on her sleeve, the songs of Fotoform speak from a mature perspective. The mopey and melancholy cliches have been removed to reveal a searching heart that knows better days will arrive eventually.
Additionally, the chiming guitar work of Geoffrey Cox delivers big swirls of sound that envelop the listener. They combine with the syncopated drumming of Michael Schorr (formerly of Death Cab for Cutie and The Long Winters) to generate a sense of primal safety against buffeting winds. Finally, House provides breathy synth textures that fit around the mix with some much-needed contrasting textures.
My favorite song on the album, “Running” features a crackling 4/4 drum rhythm underneath this propulsive, undulating bass figure, and they both support a lush, double-tracked vocal treatment. On “You Set Fire to the Sun,” the pacing ramps up a couple of notches as both the bass and lead guitar spin through dense phase cycles. The effect conjures up contradictory sensations of racing headlong to your goal and being chased by your own anxieties.
“Shut Out the World” finds Fotoform locked into a loping andante groove as Cox’s guitars ring out with emotion and bounce around with layers of echo. With “Digging Trenches,” the band strikes out with the most straightforward guitar-bass-and-drums arrangement on the album. As the song progresses, those musical concepts begin to fray at the seams. The pedal effects ramp up their intensity, the synth pads increase in volume, and House’s voice becomes ever-so plaintive.
Horizons is at its best when Fotoform relies upon their own strong arrangements and melodies.
Instead of merely recreating the gloomy glower of the vintage 4AD aesthetic, the album centers on how House’s bass motion creates exquisite tension and pressure. The band showcases its unique take on the familiar bells and whistles of the genre, including the interplay of airy synths, floating vocals, and keening guitars. The music thrums like a well-oiled engine that reveal its energy and power through consistent performance, not showing off. I found this to be a gratifying and cohesive listening experience.