David Rupley - Planetary Drift

David Rupley

Planetary Drift
self-released; 2016

​3.7 out of 5

By Dan Weston

David Rupley is a prolific artist who has released a number of albums in 2016. One of those albums Planetary Drift which is one of his most organic sounding albums to date. I’ve listened to some of his other material which often had more synths, electronic drums, etc. His music on this release felt psychedelic, ambient and ethereal. 

​He opens with “Enter Someone” which sounds like the fog of a leftover dream. The guitar is light and clean while other elements lightly bounce off of it. His vocals lay low in the mix with delay effects. It’s one of the highlights that felt extremely ambient.

Up next is the zany “Elevator Music In Space” which has a very different feel. The name is indicative of what it sounds like. However the music feels disorienting as if you were a robot and the nuts and bolts on your armor started to come loose.

“Going Nowhere” is a lot more of a straightforward song compared to the first two tracks. It’s certainly one of the catchiest songs on the album. The next song that got my attention is “Rounding” which is a meditative, hypnotic track while “Pennies” is a lo-fi sound avant-garde piece that seems to layer sine waves.

“Solar Planes” combines so many sounds it’s almost too much to take in. It sounds like two separate songs are laying on top on each other at times. “Sonar” is a slower moving song that revolves around a piano that is getting hit with different elements. “When I Was Young” has a pretty ominous sound while the title track fluctuates back and forth between dissonance and harmony.

One thing I respect about Rupley is that he shifts his palette with each album while still having a sound that feels related to his previous efforts. Rupley makes unique music and this album is a testament to that.

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