Good Weather for an Airstrike - Underneath the Stars | Hibernate

With the UK seeing gale force winds one day and unusually mild weather the next, this winter has certainly been a strange one. Looking back to this time last year Good Weather for an Airstrike released A Winter via Rural Colours, three tracks whose make up seemed to reflect the blankets of snow covered the streets we were experienced at the time. Underneath the Stars lands a year later, Hibernates first album release of the 2012, showing how much can change in that time. Tom Honey's now well established project has a set of solid releases behind it, yet with A Summer (released on Sonic Reverie) being the natural partner to the Rural Colours piece it's clear that Honey is looking to forward his musical output in to new environments with this work.
 
Leaning more heavily on the ambient and processed electronics side of his sound Underneath the Stars also carries an orchestral expansiveness presented by the use of strings, piano, guitar and a controlled use of reverb and echo . Much has been ascribed to the post rock genre for Honey's sound, not least for his monikers source, but I'm finding the more I listen to his work the more I find this to becoming less relevant. The foundation for this argument comes from observing the striking compositional strength of these tracks and indeed the effort to create each album with its own consistent sound, identity and importantly, such care given to the subtle details.
 
Theta waves begins at a steady pace, connected to Another Way Out by the sound of rain, and thunder clouds rumbling through it. Giving a feeling of movement and change in atmospheric pressure, the presence added by these details widens the scope of the work and its impact on the listener.

A single rolling tone trembles throughout Delta Sleep/REM, before segueing into the stratospheric You're Rendering Again?, reminiscent of Nest's Body Pilot (Serein), Honey levitates the listener, defying gravity and surrounding us with glowing particles of aurora borealis light. Moving back into string passages in Aurora, tidal pulls excerpt themselves in repeating patterns, yet the source notes/chords retain a connectivity to the preceding tracks.

Ending the album is the conclusive finale Theroux, a highlight which sees Honey summarise all components into one 15 minute piece where the phrases build patiently, and overlap each other. This for me has to be Honey's best work to date - a refined, considered set of tracks with a delicate emotional presence, where attention has been given to all parts of the composition.

Digipak edition of 200 released 13th Jan 2012.

http://goodweatherforanairstrike.bandcamp.com/
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