bvdub - A History of Distance (2014)

Those familiar with Brock Van Wey's music know his work is as visceral as it is prolific. While his current home base of China could easily be assumed to be more socially distant from the western world, this distance which Van Wey chooses to live might not only allow for the bountifulness of his output, but more ironically, might have something to do with the emotive longing that his music is often blanketed in. His new album, the aptly titled, "A History of Distance" embodies this longing. It waxes and it wanes with it. "A History of Distance" has a far more aching undercurrent than any of his previous bvdub works. Each of the four narrative length tracks beg for your attention then envelop you in their dreamy arc. There are even a few moments sprinkled about its near 80 minute run-time where Van Wey takes bvdub into new territory, most evident in the title track with its contorted Garage shuffle and gauzy Shoegaze epilogue. "A History of Distance" is bvdub spreading out, encasing you in waves of sound even more than before - all while projecting the pragmatic nature of distance, whether it be by geography, or that empty feeling of isolation that some of us deal with everyday, no matter how many people surround us..