Virusmoto - ◯

 

Released: November 3

If I were to sum this recent album from Virusmoto, the best way to describe it would be a strange and mystical journey experienced through electronic percussion conveying an old Nordic tribal aesthetic, with the runic titles perfectly supplementing this theme. Through the larger part of eight tracks, the mood stays hypnotic and sedate as the percussion intermingles with sonic oddities of unrevealed origin, occasionally rising in speed to the slower side of a tribal groove. I would love to share the title of the tracks on this mysterious album, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to type them. 

The entire album feels like a psychedelic trip from start to finish, as if I'm wandering through space and time on whatever the Nordic equivalent of ayahuasca is. The first track starts this off slow, with the second picking up the pace ever so slightly with pulsating rhythms and a building sense of anticipation. But the fifth track is one that really caught my ear as it tries to step away from these persistently spiritual-sounding rhythms and delves into utter weirdness. Distorted sounds of the forest swirl around the listener, giving a sensation of the world melting slightly around you. From this point in the album, the pace picks up gradually all the way up until the final track in which that ritualistic groove returns for our send-off from the unusual experience we just had. Again, much like the end of a rather intense trip, leaving an odd mixture of refreshment and exhaustion.