Third Album is a reminder of the joy that comes from forward motion.
The track listing of Markus Floats’ Third Album reads like a poem:
Forward
And
Forward Again
Always
Moving
Forward Always
It is easy to stay still; to accept and find comfort in stagnation even when things are not good. The badness is better than the unknown. But Floats doesn’t want you to cocoon in the rut that you have carved out for yourself. With every whir, flicker, and hum on Third Album, Floats pushes you forward — always moving forward — into the unknown that frightens you.
Floats’ electronic pieces are, accordingly, eerie. Many are full of ominous, atonal sounds that at first stalk the peripheries before permeating the song entirely. “Moving” is a weighty and gothic drone track and “Forward Again” is like stepping inside a house of mirrors. On the latter track, Floats manipulates his notes so that they sound elongated one moment and tattered the next until around the 1:45 mark when, after a brief moment of silence, a flood of synths pours in and carries you away.
Even though fear weighs heavily on Third Album, hope and lightness are found too: a reminder of the joy that comes from forward motion. The bright electronic melody that begins “And” is as playful as the melody from a toy video game you received in a Happy Meal and closer “Forward Always” is bookended with electronic beats that chatter excitedly about what the future holds.
But before all of this unfolds, Third Album begins with a snapping sound — like a hypnotist casting you under his spell. Floats casts a distinctive spell that is all-consuming and feels like it has an infinite amount of tonal layers and moods. His pieces move to unexpected places — always going forward — and the results are both remarkable and inspiring.
