Mark Gomes - Alphane Moods

Mark Gomes of Blue Chemise renown debuts on Cincinnati outpost, Soda Gong, with the second collection record under his own name following a tape on Regional Bears back in 2020. While retaining the lonely as a cloud sentiment of his work as Blue Chemise, Alphane Moods still feels like relatively new terrain for Gomes. New Age-accented synth music that volunteers passage through the stargate and into the void, both elegiac and gently euphoric. If the 'Alphane' of the title is a Philip K. Dick reference, then it's one that's aptly reflected in the music - in space no one can hear you scream, but they might just feel the weight of your sadness? Unlike a lot of music of this type, Gomes favours the short form, with the songs only very rarely passing the two-and-a-half minute mark. Compact the compositions might be, but they're richly produced and heavy on drama and atmosphere, something like New Age of Earth or Phaedra reduced to vaporous essence. I suspect Gomes is writing a narrative into this music (or drawing from another, such as PKD), one you can perhaps draw from the titles, and whatever it is that's being said, it certainly adds weight and direction to a style of music that's become a little polite/staid of late. 12th Isle, O Yuki Conjugate and Waveform Transmissions followers would do well to take a stop off here, too. And of course, with artwork of this nature, it was unlikely to disappoint...