Album review: 'Timensions' 

Catatac

'Timensions'

Self-released

soundcloud.com/catatacmusic

Local singer-guitarist Peter Sapia and production master Tim O-Rourke worked in similar musical circles before joining forces in 2017 under the moniker Catatac. Raised in the 80's before the days of the Internet, O-Rourke and Sapia use their contrasting blend of organic and synthetic backgrounds to create imaginative soundscapes of what our increasingly digital future will be like. Catatac's new sophomore album, "Timensions," poised for release on August 8, is an existential embrace of the inevitable relationship between humans and technology.

Combining elements of EDM, chill wave, jazz, and pop, Catatac builds an iridescent kaleidoscope of electronic textures in "Timensions." Meditate to trance-inducing backbeats in "Fragile Rock" and "Momentary Bliss," or bump along to more neon dance tracks like "Vibe Steady" and "Click 4 Love." Catatac creates fictional lyrical stories as metaphors for our ever-growing reliance on technology and desperation for real human interaction: "Tape Deck" was written from the perspective of a lost space crew recording their thoughts via a flight recorder, becoming their only connection to the outside world; "Enigmagraph" is about a super computer becoming self aware by rearranging bits of information that were carelessly left in it's code by its creator, reflective of the created becoming the creator; and "GPS" is a love song comparing our reliance on technology with an actual man-machine relationship, further blurring the lines between absurdity and reality by demonstrating how our personal identities are increasingly becoming tied to machines. Enjoy catchy beats, arpeggiated keyboard arrangements, heavy electronic vocal effects, and synth-tinged guitar solos. "Timensions" mixes terrestrial and cosmic vibes by flashing a strobe light on the existential intertwining of nature and technology.