Ascension let Smoke Screens drift through shoegazey post-punk poetry –

London-based duo Ascension cracked open their EP with Smoke Screens, a title track that glows like a warning flare over a postmodern cityscape. Ascension earned their moniker in the EP as the opening single moves like a semi-lucid synthesis of shoegaze, ambient downtempo post-punk, art rock and poetry, coalescing into a cocktail of resolving resonance.

For those who feel adrift in their own minds, the single matches the timbre of disillusioned dissonance through reverb-soaked instrumentals drifting through corridors of the production, as the syncopation illustrates the loss of grip from an even keel. If you could imagine David Lynch lending his eye for unsettling beauty to Thom Yorke as he plays havoc with rhythmic patterns in a soundscape that nods to Portishead and carries the luxe, swooning croons of The Walkmen, you get close to what the London-based outfit pulled from the ether with Smoke Screens.

Outside the studio, the duo cut their teeth on stage with live drummer Oli Banyard, letting the songs mutate in improvised London sets before recording them. The EP sketches out a descent into a dystopian skyline while keeping a hold on melody and emotional clarity, hinting this is only the opening chapter for a project wired to push alt music into stranger, even more affecting territory.

Smoke Screens is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast