‘Passing Place’ is a wonderfully ambitious piece of work, confirming Loka as a band whose imagination knows no bounds. So much so that we have a brass band – the Beaumaris Seindorf Band, no less – on several of the tracks making up ‘Passing Place’. This provides an indication of the lengths the band are prepared to go to secure some genuinely unusual and affecting sounds. The soft brass chords that open ‘The Art Of Burning Bridges’ could easily be from a soundtrack, while the weird but strangely affecting vocals that take over ‘The Beauty In Darkness’ come from Columbian singer Lido Pimienta. There are some unusual beats here too, working in elements of syncopated jazz, classical and oddly positioned funk – and all add up to an experience the like of which you have probably not heard before. One to listen to on widescreen, where it will reveal all of its hidden gems.
5 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
