Terraria Phase opens with simple repetition and tone that to me echo the titular game, thus its naming. The album’s sounds at this point, like the game, can be heard as both magical and complexly mechanical. It is not until the next few tracks that it becomes clear that the final destination of such mechamagical power is a decadent space age, its repeated retromanic fixation and the eventual collapse of interstellar empire. These tracks harkon the likes of Sci-fi RTS games that your sibling played, or perhaps you yourself. I also hear the Spore space stage but I have already named a track after that.
I love The Caretaker. At least for my contributions to the celestial whale-like drones in these space tracks, I’m certainly thinking about his pitch and memory mangling.
Blame Youtube comes back with something new including a good bell synth exhibiting our ubiquitous and unmutable obsession with gamelan rhythms, as well as bad samples from Youtube that should be retired, so now they are. Survival is another sparse song with good simple synths.
Garage Escape and the tracks that follow diverge from the softer ambience and increase the bpm with a heist sound, something Lucas and I have liked to shoot for since like 2017. Piss Hack sounds increasingly spy-like with goofy ass noises. By the time The Behind Everything starts the sound is very cinematic, definitely cutscene stuff or something.
When Lucas laughs in All Your Base I think we sound like Coil. So dope. Shoutout The Dark Crystal Jimmy Henson et al. These tracks flow so well I’m quite proud of the evolution of Lucas and my collective improvising ability. I really liked mixing Shed Rags, I wasn’t even mixing as often as I was just listening. The resolve past the two minute mark is just stupid, it feels like narrowly overcoming an asthma attack to me. Hang Out would sound good accompanying any game’s menu or especially shop, I think. I think its loop invites you to linger, and perhaps to consider risky investment.
Eyes and Ears is a song Lucas and I shredded out of nowhere at Maverick Money Mudge’s birthday party in January 2020. We’ve always kind of remembered the tune, they’ve remembered the words. Here we’ve finally recorded it, vocals and all. An epilogue follows.
-this annotation from AGG/Lee Pendu written October 2022
