Aisle 9 - Paradise Cove

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Aisle 9’s Paradise Cove explores the many moods and emotions related to the power and beauty of our oceanic world. Water surrounds us and defines us and the artist roves through everything from peaceful beaches to great creatures moving in the deep ocean. His mixture of skillful guitar playing, synth tones, textures and melodies captures the gentleness, danger and beauty of the world’s seas.

Atmosphere is a crucial component on Paradise Cove, as Aisle 9 weaves imagery through sound. The music explores everything from tranquil sensations of floating in tropical warmth to the vast depths below the dark blue of the open ocean. The tracks all expand upon themes of water, shorelines and the inexorable power of the shaping force that covers 70% of our planet.

Aisle 9 demonstrates his high degree of talent and expressive ability on his guitar with Paradise Cove. Sometimes the guitar hovers with jazzy, laid-back vibes and other times it roars and tears like the rising tide. His solos are confident and smoothly complex, while all of the varied guitar tones allow him to dig further into the emotional shadings of each track. When one adds the rich synth layers, the music surrounds me and lifts me like oceanic currents.

Melody also adds an engaging component to the musical mix. The melodies Aisle 9 writes are clear, full of emotion and compulsively listenable. Once again, he voyages through all of the moods and sensations of the seas, carrying the listener along with him as he unfurls his melodic beauty.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Voyage” comes to life as a rough-edged, gigantically vibrating synth is joined by a guitar which drifts mournfully as the waves wash. Trembling synth moves with hollow, spectral drifts as the ominous bass rumbles. Flickering sounds trip through the music and vibrate while the broad bass growls.

Metallic sounds flicker as the bass pulse adds portentous heft. The haunting guitar planes eerily through the music while the bass adds threatening undertones. Fragile, brilliant notes shiver outward while the guitar drifts slowly, filling me with astral peace and a sense of awe. The sublime bass tumbles below the bell-like synth which illuminates the music before silence falls.

Solidly throbbing drums and gently hovering bass slip past to open “Infinite Ocean”. The drums and bass undulate with rich strength while the glittering synth in the distance shifts slowly. As the music sweeps along, a peaceful indigo quality pours through, as wandering notes tremble. Echoing sounds slip past while swirling synth exhales a sense of respite and wraps around me.

As the endless blue expanse swells and rolls, flickering luminescence skips across the waves, driven by the glimmering synth. The drum beat continues to rebound as widely flowing notes shiver and breathe out while the bass sails along. The drums are sharp and clear as chiming bells float in the ether while the dark tides below extend.

Tranquility pours through the music as the steadying low end shifts. Trailing notes roam with aquatic grace as the smartly ticking drums join the resonant low end. A trembling synth and shining bells flow together with calming ease and silence falls.

Actively rumbling bass pulses and rushes as waves wash in to open “Night Bay.” An ethereal synth drifts, its shining notes carried along by an actively bouncing drumbeat and luscious bass. Brassy bursts cut in rapid succession while an angular guitar trembles through the mix with sharp-edged energy. The drums throb steadily as trumpeting tones flare with a fiery light, the bass driving forward while the guitar hovers at the edges.

The low end cruises on, sweeping sounds glowing tremulously as blazing notes shimmer above. The track softens, floating with aquatic gentleness while the background ripples and elevated tones trip lightly. The bass remains a steady force as the drums dance beneath a funky guitar, carrying a solo that blends enigmatic emotion with soulful energy, haunting yet ultra-cool, before the song closes.

“On The Rocks” begins with massively shifting, broadly bouncing synth and hard-hitting drums as waves surge again. Passionate, wordless vocals cry out over the heavy pulse of the low end. The sax adds a jazzy, groove-laced atmosphere while the guitar glows with laid-back warmth and the bass punches through. The interplay between saxophone and guitar brings a smooth, jazzy edge.

The wordless vocals continue to infuse the track with feeling while the guitar skips along with chilled-out ease and the saxophone lends its reedy, heartfelt voice. The guitar unwinds into a relaxing flow, widely throbbing notes hanging in the air. The vocals flare again in short bursts as the drums guide the track forward.

Rhys Hayward’s slap bass slides in with a laid-back, dance floor pulse while the drums press on. The synth swirls and swerves with layered complexity as the saxophone calls out once more, ardent and alive, the low end propelling everything ahead as the shifting tones fade and the track slips away.

Smoothly trickling water and widely washing synth commence “Paradise Cove”. Heavy bass pulsates as trembling sounds shift through the music and the guitar slips out in a purely peaceful melody, wrapping around me in a sonic blanket. Sensations of cool blue water and a hidden cove, full of beauty and tranquility, fill the music, transporting me with them.

The beat has a strutting pulse as the bending, floating synth trails through the music with tenderness. The entire track exhales gently as the guitar curls through the music and chopped-up vocal samples hauntingly shift. The guitar performance is assured and radiates serenity while the water trickles.

Ticking percussion shapes the music as the thick bass guides it. The guitar hovers again, exuding elegant and easy-going emotion, while the heartbeat of the track throbs on. Slowly unfolding, elevated synth planes through the music while the track fades.

“The Lighthouse” opens with a quickly trembling synth and the sound of ocean waves lapping the shore. Airy tones float into the music as the heavy drums accelerate into a dynamic beat joined by thunderous bass. Breathy sounds exhale as a softly illuminated synth dances, while the guitar carries a melody that feels adventurous yet dreamy as it paints an image of a beautiful lighthouse on a rocky promontory.

A nasal-sounding, warm synth takes the lead with a melody tinged by melancholy despite its active movement. The drums punch heavily as the bass surges and the guitar slides with mournful peace. I’m drawn to the mix of battering power and gentler sounds, especially the roving guitar.

The drums keep battering in a broken beat, delicate notes shimmering as the bass collides. A mysterious quality permeates the melody while the low end heaves with muscle and the guitar sails out, guided by the artist’s skilled fingers. The melody remains enigmatic and tender as the drums strike and the track closes with the nasal synth calling out in dramatic power before fading into silence.

Broadly open sounds move through the background as a sharper, more enveloping synth shines above it to start “Other Worlds”. The drums are ferociously propulsive as glittering notes dance along, carrying a lulling melody that tentatively brushes my ears.

The low end rumbles as the bass glides and the slightly distorted synth carries a dramatic, majestic melody brimming with images of exotic new worlds. A spinning synth circles through the music as the undulating bass and punchy drums add shape. A xylophone-like synth carries a tranquil, floating melody that touches my heart.

Now, an illuminating, expansive synth delivers an enigmatic and melancholy melodic line. Hazy notes hover in the distance as a delicate synth spins out a crystal web and the low end heaves. I am drawn to the main melody’s mysterious quality as the track ends on an almost reggae-like beat, with the drums fading away.

“Nine Fathoms Deep” begins as xylophone-like notes echo along with a nervously surging synth and heavily hitting drums. Guitar churns while a majestic and slightly intimidating melody drifts.

The guitar entangles in a glassy-smooth, soothing line as the drum and bass pulse is joined by heavier guitar. The distantly floating, metallic notes hover, their tenderly caressing melody in contrast to the heavy low end. The guitar slips out, breathing with unbroken softness while the heaviness below adds balance.

I enjoy the layered effect of the music here while the heavy drums and bass thunder and arpeggios twist. Nobility exudes from the elevated synth which pours out crystalline illumination as the guitar continues to snarl.

The drums cruise as dancing arpeggios create whirling motion and the background synth enfolds my ears. A bubbling synth ripples as the high notes hover and the low end growls before the track concludes.

“Falling Tides” starts as a brightly tremulous synthesizer moves in a misty flow above cleanly ticking drums and dense bass. The drums add lushness as they throb along with the tides of bass that flow. Above them, gleaming notes unwind in a smoothly sailing line, sparkling like a sun-dappled ocean. The drums are a solid presence as the ethereal synthesizer descends in a veil.

A xylophone with rich depth calls out, full of serenity and strength, as round-sounding synthesizer pulses shift. The towering drums pulsate as tightly wound notes move outward. Expanding chords in the background move with the jazz organ that shivers with warming calm. The drums continue to shape the music as the synthesizer floats. I am carried away on the shining musical tide, floating in its depths.

The drums continue to guide the music as brilliantly flashing sounds spread outward. The music swells up around me, shot through with light and darkness, peace and hidden sadness. Now a nasal-sounding synthesizer with a sharp edge skips through the music and the track closes on a single exhalation.

Angular, sharply heaving notes move with brighter synth and tripping strings to commence “Leviathan”. The low end surges with tidal power as the slicing, towering synth creates a steady heartbeat. Washing notes glide as chopped-up vocal sounds trip through the music above the tremendously pulsating low end, while nervously shining synth is sliced by radiant strings.

The sense of a great creature moving with barely restrained power permeates the music here as the huge size and gliding motion combine. The low end growls, waiting, while the staccato vocal sounds flow and the track moves into a segment in which planing notes move with oceanic force, broken by blinding light that leaps and fades.

Below the other musical elements, waves rumble and the choppy vocal pattern moves again above the continually driving low end. The drums burst while the chanting sound floats and metallic tones drift above the heavy bass and then the track ends.

Conclusion

Paradise Cove expresses the intense connection humanity has to the sea. The mixture of power, grace and aquatic flow transports me to other realms and imbues me with a plethora of complex feelings as it unfolds.