Over a decade after the release of 2007's
Ma Fleur,
the Cinematic Orchestra return with their fourth album of expansive soundscapes,
To Believe. During the gap between efforts, the primary duo of Jason Swinscoe and Dominic Smith remained active with multiple projects (including a Disney soundtrack, a live album, and a compilation of tracks composed for avant-garde short films), but didn't return focus to their core material until late 2016. Emerging three years later with
To Believe, the pair toned down the overt jazziness of
Ma Fleur -- consider this set more "Time and Space" than "Ma Fleur" -- retaining their meandering nature and elevating the music to a new level of elegance and beauty. A fresh crop of guest vocalists were recruited to do the heavy lifting, with
Moses Sumney suffusing the title track with drama and gravity;
Roots Manuva layering warmth and a pulsing heartbeat to the beat-forward "A Caged Bird/Imitations of Life"; and labelmate L.D. Brown (aka
Grey Reverend) doing his best
José González-fronting-
Alt-J on the swirling "Zero One/This Fantasy." Soulful English vocalist Tawiah appears from the ether to deliver a scene-stealing performance on "Wait for Now/Leave the World," much like
Heidi Vogel on the expansive 11-minute closer, "A Promise," which briefly glitters to life in a surprise burst that pleases as much as it disappoints, simply for not lasting long enough. On the instrumental side, the uplifting "Lessons" evokes
Radiohead at their most experimental and glitchy, while the deceptively gorgeous "The Workers of Art" sweeps with bittersweet tenderness. Although these seven songs mostly float from here to there -- a sometimes frustrating collection of ideas that tease resolution without any satisfying denouement -- the atmosphere that
the Cinematic Orchestra creates is evocative and spurs the imagination.
To Believe is very much an experience that requires engagement if a worthwhile connection is desired; otherwise, it makes for a terrific soundtrack to a film that resides purely in the soul. ~ Neil Z. Yeung