Agitated Atmosphere: Robedoor - Primal Sphere

As record companies continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Robedoor.

Brought back to life more times than Kenny, we stare once again into the evolving abyss that is Robedoor and like the cartoon boy who has died a hundred deaths, I do not fear the unknown.

Which is the crux of Primal Sphere; a buoyantly dark look at peace on earth, goodwill toward men with the carelessness and purity of a child untarnished by foibles and projected anxieties. The album is richly textured, going beyond its titular message. Though Primal Sphere is indeed rough and raw, it is far from green or unready. Britt Brown and his latest incarnation of Robedoor have seen much, experience plenty of change, and despite myriad setbacks and sidetracks continue to produce thought-provoking music as organic and unencumbered as rugrats banging on pots and pans in search for their rhythm.

Primal Sphere is the meeting point between Robedoor’s old, drone-and-noise blueprint and Brown’s recent fascination with techno, disco, glam and any dance floor craze yet to tidal wave American shores. It’s a slow immersion, opener “Stagnant Venom” paying tribute to classic Not Not Fun fare such as Robedoor sibling, Pocahaunted. But the album’s second half—“Flannel Shroud” and “Concrete Brother”—are more about the inner workings of one’s cadence. Though a rave will never threaten escape, the youthful ennui in all of us will get one last workout.

So be not fearful when you make the plunge into new Robedoor. Do not fret, just let go.

Justin Spicer is a freelance journalist whose work can be viewed at his website. You can also find him on Twitter.