WEEKEND THROWBACK
“Your Love Means Everything Part 2”
from the album Your Love Means Everything
2002
iTunes
August 21, 2002:
With his new release, Your Love Means Everything, U.K. artist Faultline (David Kosten’s nom de disque) fleshes out the creative vision of 1999’s Closer, Colder, adding a layer of human warmth to his post-rock electronic palette. The album opens with the title track, a minimalist instrumental that is later reprised with vocals by Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Martin’s (and the album’s) shining moment, however, is “Where is My Boy,” a haunting track filled with rhythmic acoustic guitars and clattering percussion. Kosten’s understanding of spacial dynamics is beyond reproach; his Eno-esque panoramas (“Theme for Half Speed,” “Sweet Iris”) not only pan left and right but cascade forward like gushes of wind. The instrumentals act as textured sonic buffers between the album’s vocal-driven tracks: powered by a stunning performance by newcomer Jacob Golden, “Bitter Kiss” is at once playful and richly ominous; “The Colossal Gray Sunshine,” featuring Flaming Lip Wayne Coyne, is charming in its simplicity (the track is a quirky rendition of a song Pink Floyd never, but should have, made); and Michael Stipe delivers a striking cover of The Brothers Four’s gloomy folk-Americana tune “Greenfields.” While Kosten’s buzzing synths and triggered samples may still leave some listeners cold, Your Love Means Everything is a great stride for a genre that has never been able to find a warm home.