Austin-based multi-instrumentalist Neil Lord is as diverse as he is prolific. A part of bands such as Single Lash and Thousand Foot Whale Claw, as well as a touring guitarist and keyboardist for the likes of Jess Williamson and Molly Burch, Lord’s work traverses the gamut of styles and genres. He has also maintained a solo project under the moniker Future Museums, a vehicle for experimental work across ambient and kosmische territories, and a space in which Lord can practice his most exploratory work.
After a long stint on tour, Lord returned to Future Museums with renewed focus. The result is Pre-Form, a record released on Holodeck Records inspired by his experiences of lucid dreaming and out-of-body experiences. Previous Future Museums releases have been rooted in guitar, and Pre-Form sheds this completely, a symbolic gesture that speaks to the themes of the record. A pull away from conventional pop structures as a kind of sonic astral projection, the Future Museums spirit existing beyond the framework which brought it into life.
The mood is typified by ‘Leaving the Vessel’, the title representing both out-of-body experiences and the move beyond stylistic conventions. The sense of transcendence which permeates Pre-Form goes far deeper than the typical ambient escapism. Rather, it represents a cohesive move to push outside of so-called limits in the hope of finding something new.
Take ‘Peace Guppy’, its peaceful swirls leading the listener out into an expansive dreamscape, though the mood is complicated beyond its blissful shimmer by a pressing synth that emerges from the back of the scene. A force just out of view which Lord, and thereby the listener, is encourage to pursue. For the work of Future Museums presents meditative relaxation as a means not an end, encouraging curiosity and exploration in order to achieve new things.
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Pre-Form is out now via Holodeck Records and you can get it from the Future Museums Bandcamp page.
Artwork by Samantha Wendel, Photo by Daniel Di Domenico