Thessaloniki trails behind Athens’ size and global stature as Greece’s second largest city, but comes in first as the source of musical inspiration for homegrown trio The Fog Ensemble. Throbs, the sophomore effort from this instrumental shoegaze outfit – guitarist/programmer Antonis Karakostas, bassist Nicholas Kondylis, and drummer George Nanopoulos - combines a dreamy shoegaze palette, post-rock textures, atmospheric trip-hop, and the pulsations of Manchester deep house to create an abstract sonic homage to the coastal and historic city.
Track names like “Fever Bliss”, “Weather Girl” and “Droog Party” signal the band’s intentions to evoke subtler and more elusive soundscapes this time around. (Their 2015 self-titled debut album featured track titles that pointed towards more concrete entities such as “City Rat”, “Subway” and “Cage”). Throbs suggests that The Fog Ensemble may have symbolically outgrown their name. Instead of suggesting a restricted visibility, near-static density, or a mental state of confusion, the new album hints at a clear-eyed sense of direction and purpose. The proverbial fog has given way to a fine mist, allowing the listener to appreciate a quicker pace without totally abandoning the sense of being lost in an otherworldly reverie.
Listening to Throbs has been described as a cinematic experience; it is easy to see why. Karakostas, Kondylis, and Nanopoulos are masters of timing, mood, momentum, and suspense, deftly orchestrating fluctuations in volume, intensity, and pace to evoke a complex emotional journey. There are hints of melancholia, optimism, inertia, lassitude, and manic euphoria to be found between its arresting melodies and persistent rhythms, but no singular emotion is sufficiently foregrounded over the others. These are not songs for clear skies or heavy downpours, but for those rarefied moments in between – when you are uneasily anticipating which way the weather will turn.
