Much like his solo debut, 2018's
Distant Early Warning, Australian improviser
Laurence Pike recorded the pieces on
Holy Spring live during a single day, using a sampler and a drum kit. He describes his creative process as being puzzle-like, and it took him a month to develop samples and figure out how they work together. As such, his music can be a bit challenging; it can be hard to tell which direction he's going in, or how all the pieces connect. Stick with him, though, and his music inhabits some strange, enticing spaces. "Dance of the Earth" picks up the pace from the Fourth World ambient drift of "Daughter of Mars," with plucked string melodies forming around a hobbling, polyrhythmic beat. "Drum Chant" follows the pulse of
Art of Noise-like synth vocal tones, building up a furious rhythm. "The Shock of Hope" similarly blends live and sampled percussion, with a woodblock-like rhythmic electronic loop surrounded by fluttering drums, metallic clangs, and resounding, bell-like notes.
Pike's solo material is loose, scattered, and unpredictable, and while it isn't quite as focused or engrossing as his work as part of groups like
Szun Waves or
Triosk, the unmistakable sense of mystery makes it worth checking out.