When I last wrote about Helicon it was around the release of God Intentions, a record that confirmed just how expansive their vision could be. I spoke then about trust, collaboration and that sense of collective purpose that runs through everything they do. From the ominous swell of ‘Dark Matter’ to the widescreen lift of ‘Flume’, they showed how to balance shadow and searing intense joy without ever diluting either.
This time around they have widened their frame with an artist whose reputation predates this project by nearly a decade. Based in Los Angeles, Al Lover is a fixture of the global psychedelic underground who has spent years refining a fractured, abstract form of electronica that draws freely from trip hop, synthesised krautrock, dub and dark ambient. His work feels like a bridge across eras and styles, building with samples, drum machines, analogue synths and live instrumentation into something that nods to figures like J-Dilla, DJ Shadow and Lee “Scratch” Perry as much as it looks toward future terrain. AI Lover has released numerous studio albums and beat tapes, toured Europe and the US many times, remixed artists from Osees to Night Beats and held resident DJ roles at festivals like Levitation and Desert Daze. Through his mixes and curated sets, he traces lines between disparate scenes, connecting psych, hip hop and experimental electronica in ways that feel organic in spirit.
That spirit carries directly into Arise, Helicons fourth studio album and a full collaborative project with Al Lover. Built from a trans-Atlantic exchange of demos and completed at Castle of Doom with Tony Doogan, this is Helicon widening their frame once more. This mighty collective now includes John Paul Hughes, Gary Hughes, Mark McLure, Graham Gordon, Seb Jonsen, Billy Docherty, Mike Hastings, Anna McCracken and Declan Welsh, with Belle & Sebastian’s Chris Geddes lending piano to the closing track.
Hughes has this to say about the record.
“Arise confronts a culture of individualism at the mercy of opportunistic grifters, offering a reminder that empathy, compassion, and authenticity are still choices. Arise is a visceral wake-up call to rise above the bullshit and reclaim meaning from the madness.”
Let’s drop the needle and see what these grooves hold.
‘Arise’ opens the album with Middle Eastern sitar lines that immediately root the sound in Helicon’s long-standing focus with Eastern modalities. Then the beat lands. A pulsing electro rhythm locks in beneath sheets of guitar, and suddenly you are inside a pulsing groove. Lyrically, the track is framed as a confrontation with hollow individualism, positioning empathy as an active choice. The music mirrors that idea. It gathers momentum through repetition. This is a real psychedelic groove. Man, we are off!
‘Backbreaker’ is nothing short of euphoric. The guitars chime with an ‘90s indie shimmer while sitar accents flicker around the edges. There is a dancefloor angle here, sharpened by Lover’s rhythmic touch. The refrain circles back on itself with that line about hearing your name, creating a hook that grabs you instantly. This could easily sit on a Bond movie soundtrack, proper widescreen music.
‘Tabula Rasa’ lives up to its clean slate title. The opening melody carries a faint echo of classic melancholic pop before the track accelerates into a driving hybrid of guitar surge and electronic propulsion. The beat is tight, insistent, almost mechanical, while the guitars stretch wide above it. Again, I’m drawn to cinematic parallels and just how massive sounding these tracks are. Mission Impossible anyone?
‘Not A Thought’ compresses everything into under three minutes of industrial pulse. This one hits like a hammer made of static and black holes. The rhythm section feels clipped and controlled, the electronics snapping into place with murderous intent. It’s spell binding in its repetition; a mantra built from ray guns and fuzz.
Up next ‘It Won’t Stop’ extends that rhythmic focus. The groove rolls forward with a steady undercurrent of low end, while guitars flare and recede in waves. The track builds through layering creating these dramatic shifts in texture, tone and dynamics There’s a couple of moments that are quite overwhelming and I’ve found myself having to gather my thoughts before thinking, yeah, I need to listen to that again.
‘Adjust The Dosage’ offers us a moment of weightless calm. Shimmering guitar textures stretch outward, creating an almost galactic glow. The production is so on point here. Space opens up between the instruments, allowing the melodic lines to hang in the air. It feels restorative without losing the album’s core pulse. This is music to listen to as you’re soaring through the milky way. Cosmic and epic!
On ‘We Don’t Belong’ there’s an intoxicating bassline that pulls everything into its orbit. The bass is definitely the star of the track here. The groove is confident and grounded, with vocals riding just above the rhythm. This one has a slightly lighter tone but it’s just as celestial as its predecessor.
Everyone don your robes because we’re off to ‘Midnight Mass’ next. The arrangement feels ceremonial, built from layered guitars, choral exultations and subtle electronic undercurrents. There is a devotional quality in the repetition, as if the band are inviting you join their cult. If so, pass the Kool Aid, I’m in.
‘Goodbye Cool World’ closes the record on a gentler note, with Chris Geddes’ piano adding warmth and clarity to the closing movement. Things have shifted slightly from the cosmic to the kosmische. The electronics soften, the guitars glow rather than roar, and the album resolves with a sense of hard-earned equilibrium. After the rush and propulsion of the earlier tracks, this feels like staring at the open sky and taking a full breath. Letting your thoughts return to the cosmos from whence they came.
Taken as a whole, this album feels like a statement of intent from both camps. Helicon bring the communal fire and widescreen ambition. Al Lover brings discipline, groove and a producer’s instinct for tension and release. The result is dense yet direct, cosmic yet grounded in rhythm. It rewards close listening but also thrives when played loud and allowed to fill a room. There is purpose running through every beat and guitar line. Nothing feels accidental. In a world Hughes describes as chaotic and self-serving, this record offers unity through sound. Helicon and Al Lover have set something in motion. All you have to do now is Arise with it.
Arise is out now on vinyl via the ever-cool Fuzz Club. You can check out the album in full over on the Helicon Bandcamp Page.
You can follow Helicon on social media here….
And AI Lover here….
Discover more from Static Sounds Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Static Sounds Club 