"Epilogue in Waves" is the third album from n5MD main-man Mike Cadoo's ever evolving Bitcrush moniker. The album is the soundtrack to a story which begins with a sense of hope, but whose undercurrents pull you to the end you feared. Epilogue in Waves marks the end of Cadoo's “wading in the ocean” thematic metaphor for lost time that constituted the backbone of his previous album, “In Distance.” As his self described “rock record,” the album eschews some of Cadoo's previous electronic methodologies for a more stripped-down songwriting style which utilizes only guitars, basses and drums. This experiment in the basics has led to a sonically rich release that still contains those warm musical crevices to find solace in. Epilogue in Waves will please fans of previous works by Bitcrush as well as neophytes to Cadoo's brand of emotional and sometimes epic songwriting.

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Arguably the most anticipated release in n5MD’s history, “Epilogue in Waves”, the third album from owner Mike Cadoo’s Bitcrush project, continues the fine traditions of his imprint, melding an emotional aesthetic to much of his music. Two years in the making, this is his most cohesive and fully-realised record yet, as the Californian-based musician advances the evolutionary nature of the Bitcrush sound.

‘The Bitcrush sound’ is a key component in this album’s appeal. This is clearly the work of Cadoo, no other band or artist can sound like this. Throughout “Epilogue...” Bitcrush switches between warm ambient synthscapes or rich, electronic-laced shoegaze, often presenting tracks that effortlessly braid both styles together. He deftly navigates between both, while structuring them into his trademarked, epic compositions.

Cadoo, in fact, does epic by the bucketload, but it is the seamless mix of organic and electronic instrumentation that is the most striking aspect of Bitcrush on this form. Resonating guitar textures float freely with dreamy synths, as echoic vocals dissolve amidst the electronically-charged live drum sound. In short, those with no prior knowledge of Bitcrush could be forgiven for thinking that this was the work of a fully-fledged band rather than just one man. “Of Days”, for example, unusually follows a verse-chorus-verse like structure rising from a tranquil passage of slo-mo beats and clouded melodies into a full-blown ‘stadium-rock’ chorus.

While many artists simply over-load their music with a succession of effects, Bitcrush is different. His music is measured with every tone, note, melody and electronic pulse strategically placed. The electronics in particular, much like the vocals, do not insist upon the listener, instead they augment the overall feel of each track. There is a certain comfortable solace to a piece like “Pearl”, for example, that one would associate with a late-night drive through deserted, rain-swept roads. Cadoo spends several minutes developing such a nocturnal atmosphere, the cavernous synth waves emanating with a degree of warmth. Only the forceful volley of percussion halfway through will wake you from such a glorious cocoon of sound.

“An Island, A Peninsula”, meanwhile, nods to those early Sigur Ros comparisons with its torrents of arcing guitar and revolving, crashing percussion, while the taut Joy Division-esque bassline of “Epilogue in Tides” shifts the melodic focus from the layers of heavenly synthesizer and guitar. Cadoo, it should be noted, is also adept when it comes to changing the pace of his records, many albums often suffer from lack of variety where bands take a good idea and run it into the ground. Not on “Epilogue in Waves” though; whether it is the euphoric William Orbit-like ambience of “Prologue” or the pulsating end of “Pearl”, the Bitcrush experience remains riveting due to Cadoo’s guidance.

Of course, all of this is underpinned by the level of emotion we’ve come to expect of n5MD. But then Cadoo has been leaving clues all along, even the ‘Bitcrush’ moniker hints at a man/machine existence, an existence where man controls such devices to his advantage -- and this is where Cadoo’s Bitcrush project excels. Whatever your take is, “Epilogue in Waves” is clearly the soul of the Bitcrush machine. evilsponge

If post-rock today offers only the briefest of death spasms, parts of the electronica world are certainly alive and kicking. Here at EvilSponge we have been behind the vision of labels such as n5MD, Resonant, and Darla for some while now. There are truly lovely things happening in the genre of emotive electronica. Acts such as Port-Royal, Hammock, and now Bitcrush are earning the right to be discussed alongside not solely peers (e.g., Ulrich Schnauss), but also luminaries such as Mogwai and beyond. Pushing against genre restraints, confounding expectation and breaking through to fresh territory are gifts denied to all but a few seminal artists, yet for my money Bitcrush always had less to do with the "beat and grind" of IDM (where Mike Cadoo started) and much more to do with pioneering indie. Shoegaze certainly, but we can no longer stick there. I could confidently trace the Bitcrush family history back through Mogwai, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, New Order, and back to (Third) Uncle Eno himself. Just listen to the submarine descent that is A False Movement, True. Part Treasure and part Power Corruption and Lies, the effect is truly beautiful. Yet, arguably only Bitcrush could sound like this. He has made this style his own. Found his own voice and his own place alongside those great names of the past.

Pearl is an absolute gem. (Excuse the terrible pun.) Thank heavens for the post-rock/ambient/electronic artist who grasps the power of restraint. No stale, formulaic, quietLOUD pieces here. Epilogue In Waves is a fully rounded, complete album. We cannot therefore frame our discussion in terms of standout tracks. Like Bark Psychosis' Hex or Port-Royals Flares, you play this album in full. Every time. Where there HAS been plenty of discussion, it seems, is the subject of the album's meaning. Just what closure is Epilogue hinting at? Let's consider the sleeve art (as I'm prone to doing). After all, the artwork was every bit as chosen as the music which made the final cut. I see a grey-blurred ocean vista with the artist name and album title positioned below the horizon. Conclusion? Where once, Bitcrush might have played on the surface of something, this time he's going for full immersion.

He's going under.

If there is a sea change to be detected on Epilogue, could it be a move toward the feel and style of a live band? Certainly this time around there is far less emphasis on processed sound. Tides reminds me of Mew's Am I Wry? No, albeit in stately, symphonic guise. Other tracks defy the descriptive power of the written word. That, I think, is why we love music beyond, say, poetry as an art form. And if you're like me, my God you're going to love this elegiac, electrifying record.

We will wait to see then, whether Epilogue In Waves implies a turning of the page, a new chapter or a different book altogether. Could this be the last Bitcrush record? Maybe, but if he succeeds in pulling fans of one genre across to another, whether it be rock to electronic or visa versa then the death of Bitcrush will not be in vain. And if Cadoo has a band project in mind, I'll be first in line, believe me. Critics used to talk in terms of "massive crossover potential". I think Epilogue finally bridged the waters. the list

In conclusion to a kind of Bitcrush triptych, Gridlock’s Mike Cadoo has made the bold but logical step away from twittering electronics altogether, here moulding pensive soundscapes with nowt but the traditional guitar, bass, drums and spare spectral voices. By way of inspiration you can imagine the maestro gazing fixedly out to sea for impossibly long stretches of time, and while it is true that the listener really has to be in the mood for much the same (try a lukewarm bath), with track names like ‘What Would Hope Be Without Disappointment’ smacking of histrionic solemnity, there is an aural conveyance of pertinent emotion that is right on the money. Affecting stuff. cyclic defrost

It’s pretty much a given that an n5MD release is going to provide exquisitely recorded beauty and melancholy. Evolving from it’s original IDM roots it now can almost single-handedly lay claim to defining post-rock blends of electronics and instrumental rock. It comes as no surprise then, that label founder Mike Cadoo, going under the guise of Bitcrush, is capable of delivering an album that is a quintessential summation of where the label is currently at.

Acoustic drums with plenty of room reverb clang under the washes of synth and guitar drone, accentuated by electronic pulses and blips. The sound is huge, the epic-ness Cadoo strives for achieved with aplomb. A spattering of vocal tracks - ‘Of Days’, ‘Epilogue To Tides’ and ‘To Drown’ add a layer of variety to the otherwise distant wall of sound aesthetic. “To Drown’ is also notable for it’s overt use of programmed rhythms, as opposed to the organic drums of the rest of the album. The album can have a tendency to wash over the listener in the wrong context, with it’s consistently languid tempos and simple chordal progressions but, in the right place - and I would suggest up loud and in the dark - its a moving and peaceful body of work. textura

This uninterrupted, fifty-four-minute travelogue by Bitcrush (aka n5MD head Mike Cadoo) certainly recalibrates any notion one might have had of n5MD as an “emotive electronica” label. Oh, the emotive dimension is definitely there—in spades—but the Bitcrush sound itself, even if electronically-rooted in production terms, is here reduced to a live guitar-bass-drums attack; the emphasis is on “natural” sounds, with even the enveloping synthesizers made to sound more like a church organ than your typical Moog. But the music hardly suffers from its stripped-down style, especially when Cadoo holds interest by alternating between peaceful episodes and anthemic guitar-heavy passages that suggest a fusion of shoegaze and post-rock. There's a narrative of sorts in play that concerns an eventual downward pull by undercurrents that leads to drowning, though indifference to it doesn't diminish the listening experience.

“Prologue” opens Epilogue In Waves with a hymnal meditation that paves the way for “An Island, a Penninsula” [sic] which intermittently explodes with the aggressive kick of shimmering guitars and live drumming. When echo bleeds off of the drums in “Of Days,” one recognizes that the production style should be regarded as an instrument in itself, so critical is it to the album's atmospheric character. “What Would Hope Be Without Disappointment” similarly entrances with its blend of chiming guitar choirs and epic ambiance. On “Of Days” and the title track, Cadoo's singing sounds good too, though he wisely incorporates it as one more instrumental texture rather than something placed in the forefront. Moving towards album's end, he imbues the sweeping title piece with orchestral grandeur while the penultimate “ Pearl ” escalates to a climax that towers in intensity over every one heard previously. The album title and “To Drown” clearly intimate an end to the Bitcrush project which, if true, would be a shame given the powerful evidence displayed throughout Cadoo's third full-length under the name.

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