Review of the sublime “Tomorrow Was The Golden Age” by Bing & Ruth

I have a system for buying albums. I follow about two-dozen labels ambient, drone and modern classical labels on Bandcamp. Whenever a new album is released, I receive a notification email. I click through to the Bandcamp site and add the album to an ever-increasing “wish list.” That’s step one.

Step two: While I’m studying, reading, writing, playing games, or even designing generative systems in Reason, I listen to this back-catalogue. I’d like to say that I carefully analyse each album, making scrupulous notes as I’m sure the artist(s) would appreciate, but I don’t. Truthfully, I’m ruthless. I’ll give most albums one track, sometimes two. If by then the album hasn’t struck some kind of chord with me by then, no matter how indefinable that is, I take it off my wish list and it disappears forever.

That puts a lot of pressure on albums to be…well, a lot of things. If the album helps me to keep studying, reading, etc, I’ll keep it on. I find ambient dub and minimal techno to be particularly good at this. If the album is particularly relaxing, I’ll keep listening also. If the album intrigues me, such as with an interesting use of field recording, or with an instrument used in an unexpected way, I’m in.

This is what initially hooked me with Tomorrow Was The Golden Age (2014) by Bing & Ruth. Seconds into “Warble,” the album’s first track, listeners are met with cascading, reverberated piano notes and drifting, multi-layered clarinets. The track rises and falls, like rolling waves out at sea, reminding me of John Luther Adams’s Become Ocean. Like that album, “Warble” feels like a living, breathing thing. But as opposed to that album’s awe-inspiring grandeur, “Warble” is snug and cosy.

“Warble” seamlessly blends into the second track, “TWTGA.” Again, there are more flurries of reverberated piano notes which form the song’s underlying texture. Gradually, a gorgeous, simple piano melody is introduced and the piano texture is accompanied by deep, quiet pad sounds. The song gradually fades to a shimmering textured sound, then disappears as “Just Like The First Time” begins. “Just Like The First Time” is a definite highlight, and it exemplifies what I like most about the album — its sense of space. A lone, plaintive piano is the song’s anchor, and clarinets and other horned instruments drift languidly around it, like ships floating past a lighthouse in the night. There is a lot of space between these notes, giving the reverb time to fade fully because more notes are introduced.

This is the same interplay present on the last two tracks, “Reflector” and “Postcard From Brilliant Orange,” which are equally gorgeous and comprise about as good an ending to an album as I can imagine. Like “Just Like the First Time,” the songs are also remarkably relaxing, as the ever-present drifting woodwind instruments sway and bend, creating a lulling effect. I lived in Japan for a time, and on days off I would study Japanese, watch movies, drink coffee and read. At the end of the day, “Reflector” and “Postcard from Brilliant Orange” became part of my bedtime ritual. I’d shower, meditate, then pop the songs on while cleaning dishes and brushing my teeth. I’ll never forget how wonderfully these two tracks would supercharge my melatonin and I look back on those days as some of the most peaceful I’ve ever had.

The album isn’t all sleepiness, though. The languid tones of “Just Like the First Time” gives way to “Police Police Police Police Police.” The track epitomises the album’s grand, sweeping quality. There is so much motion here. Like “Warble,” the piano flutters away, again while horned instruments sweep around it. This time, some of the sweeping tones are a tad more discordant, but it’s still thoroughly gorgeous.

“Police Police Police Police Police” is followed by the slow, quiet “Strange Wind.” It serves as an intermission into the last four tracks, starting with “The Towns We Love Is Our Town.” It’s not a personal highlight, largely because I feel as though is doesn’t cover any new ground for the album, but it’s another example of the album’s grand, sweeping, glowing sound. “We Are On The Side Of Angels” features an odd, rhythmic sound that’s hard to place, but that reminds me of train tracks. Accompanying the rhythmic sound is the familiar drift of woodwinds and the gorgeous, reverberated piano.

Perhaps a faint criticism here is that by this point, I feel I “get” Tomorrow Was The Golden Age. It doesn’t have any more moods and tones to share. On the other hand, it’s for this very reason that the album is so repeatable. Since every song drifts into each other, on background play it can feel like one continuous track. Couple that with the album’s consistent tone and mood, it’s an easy album to spin several times in a row.

Overall, the album is a thoroughly relaxing, enjoyable listen. The mood and tone of the album is thick and syrupy, and I believe is best enjoyed at night with a good book, or while studying. It’s also a truly terrific way to fall asleep, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Thank you for reading!