Dazzling in its array of dreamy meditations and hypnotic rhythmic undercurrents, A Space Between is an enthralling new album from The Numb Project. The Portland, Oregon-based alias of producer Chris Calarco caught our ears last year with the grippingly atmospheric album Transmissions from a Troubled Radio, and A Space Between continues to showcase Calarco’s penchant for captivating soundscapes. A Space Between succeeds with both lush synth-led entrancement and warming percussion, which melds hip-hop, downtempo, and dub-inspired trip-hop with cohesive allure.
“A Monkst” opens the album with glimmering synth intrigue, which moves seamlessly amidst a calming bass pulse and head-nodding percussion. Swaying, lounge-set piano brightens the initially nocturnal soundscape. Wordless vocal effects linger chillingly, re-emerging during a satisfying conclusion where shimmers of piano traverse into silence. The ensuing “All Souls” brings back the piano right away, though with a more serene elegance as they push forward within a lo-fi hip-hop rhythmic charm. A soulful vocal sample — “you’re the only one that grounds me,” — infuses melodically. Vocal elements on the album are often sparser — like the ghostly soothing on “Delia” or the glimpses of emotion within the Burial-esque “Bowling for Time” — though “All Souls” shows that the project’s sound can certainly succeed with a prominent vocal aspect, as well.
An especially magnetic melodic direction charms on “Bloom.” Spacey synth swells move into a shifting between twinkling momentum and subdued haunts, bolstered by dynamic rhythms that span from quaint click-clacking to more snare-forward vibrancy — exuding a boom-bap nostalgia in its melding of those snares and steady electronic pulsations. Fragments of glitchy effects contribute enjoyably, conjuring the sort of radio-frequency starry-eyed feelings of The Numb Project’s previous album. It speaks to the album’s versatility that the next track, “Split Width,” evoking another world entirely. “Split Width” succeeds with a funky, jazz-touched bass drive — intertwining electronic sounds with sparser precision, particularly as the playful piano lines assume a prominent role.
Aptly feeling like the approach of a rewarding journey’s end, the album’s final tracks reflect a nighttime-set ambience in its caressing electronic aspects and lusher percussion. “Leaves” balances lo-fi hip-hop comforts with effervescent synth doses and meditative vocal wordlessness, while “Still She Dreams” builds with artful momentum as mellow keys move sporadically into an otherworldly radiance. Album finale “5 AM” further enhances that sense of blur between night and day — beautifully straddling glistening trickles and lulling rhythms. The album’s central theme meditates on a state of in-between — as the title implies — and the eclectic structural traversal within its tracks represent that well; a mixture of gorgeous vocal samples, caressing instrumentation, and alluring rhythms make for a blissfully intoxicating sound.
