IZE guitarist Daniel O’ Connell splits his time writing music for his own project Waveland. Sharing the ambient qualities of the project he contributes to, Songs From The Wormhole is his cosmic debut. The solo effort from O’Connell is a galactic shot in the gut using the galaxy as an allegory for feelings and hopelessness.

The anamorphic opener “~ just for you ~” comes together for some strong galactic vibrations with electric synths weaving in and out to make a wondrous collage of noise. “Girl Charlie” makes use of spatial guitars that drag over a dancey pattern, almost sounding like a space inspired LCD Soundsystem. The theme of space and time drapes the record’s sound with added depth and dimension that sprinkles in a bit of wonder.

Drifting into infinite nothingness, “Desperate” illustrates O’ Connell at what feels like his low point. Beautiful floaty synths dangle over morose guitars and bass as an emotionally dampened O’Connell faintly sings “I’ve been waiting for ages”. The enlivened closer “My Time Inside The Wormhole” feels a bit different from the overall despondent mood of the record. Flushed with hand percussions and bright instrumentation, O’ Connell gives reassurance to his listeners that things will turn out alright, even in a post-Earth or post-apocalypse world.

Cereal Pairing: Cap N’ Crunch’s Galactic Crunch