J. Willgoose, founding member of the extraordinarily successful
Public Service Broadcasting, started his solo project
Late Night Final during the 2020 lockdown, when recording sessions for his band's fourth album were postponed. Located in a different country than the group's equipment, he gathered pieces of gear, including vintage synthesizers and effects units, and started experimenting.
A Wonderful Hope is the project's full-length debut, and it consists of four slowly building ambient techno tracks that convey a somewhat weathered sense of optimism. Each of the pieces runs for ten minutes or longer, and they take their time to develop, with the album's first beats arriving after about five minutes of soft, radiant shimmering. The synths glow and ripple, gradually becoming brighter and fuller, eventually eclipsing the steadily chugging beats. Vocals are used sparingly and usually just as texture, but the album's title track uses the sort of archival sample
Willgoose's main group is best known for. An interviewee is confident that things will improve, and the interviewer commends his good faith. The samples are repeated and shredded, as a motorik beat shuffles underneath, and the synths gradually swell up and become starrier. While the music does have a hopeful tone, it still seems grounded in reality, and clearly doesn't come from a place of unfettered joy. "The Human Touch" emerges from layers of static, pulsing outward and attempting to break free from uncertainty, gradually reaching a level of weary exuberance. The final track is called "Slow Release," but the title would be just as accurate for the other three, as none of them are in a hurry to reach a destination. Instead,
Willgoose spends these tracks pondering how things could be, hoping for a brighter future. ~ Paul Simpson