Chance of Rain
by Laurel Halo
  • Record Label: Hyperdub
  • Release Date: Oct 28, 2013
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. RussellChap
    Dec 27, 2013
    7
    After Quarantine Laurel Halo has taken a step back and revisited her techno sound of her Hour Logic EP. Where Quarantine was a brave and ultimately successful experiment Chance of Rain feels like a regressive move.

    Some of Chance of Rain is enjoyable with hints of new directions but without the vocals of previous work makes the album less striking and characterless.
  2. Allrvesal
    Oct 31, 2013
    9
    In my opinion, Laurel Halo made an amazing debut album in 2012: 'Quarantine' built an atmosphere of dense claustrophobia, with heavy ambiance constructed by industrial, dark electronic synths paired with melted and tuneless, expressive and creepy vocals that are like instruments. The album had a sci-fi, sometimes outer-space feel, in which the machines are made of flesh and they cutIn my opinion, Laurel Halo made an amazing debut album in 2012: 'Quarantine' built an atmosphere of dense claustrophobia, with heavy ambiance constructed by industrial, dark electronic synths paired with melted and tuneless, expressive and creepy vocals that are like instruments. The album had a sci-fi, sometimes outer-space feel, in which the machines are made of flesh and they cut themselves deeper to expose a steely structure (driven by blood). That said, the cover art is also hugely meaningful; the picture, a drawing made by Japanese artist Makoto Aida, is equally disturbing and unnerving as many tracks from 'Quarantine'. The high school girls committing harakiri disclose their viscera, their guts, in a gesture of purification but, otherwise, a demonstration of illness a desire to be infected and affected by the inorganic pulses of mechanical beings during 40 days of doomed feelings.

    When I first listened to 'Chance of Rain', I obviously felt the total difference between the two albums. 'Chance' sounds to me like the victory of machines, now beyond the flesh and blood vs. metallic; those machines have incorporated the human essence, the movement of people, so that they could made it on their own way. In my ears, this album stands for the capacity of making things move or predict their movement. The sounds are stretched to the wider range of IDM, minimal techno, drone and experimental, going through a landscape of difficultly danceable tracks. The songs are like waves, which go back and forth bringing new shapes and new nuances of rhythm. They're quite like post-Internet, designed in a cold and empty scenery where Laurel Halo, as a producer and one-woman band, fuses herself with her diversified pallet sound experiments. Now voiceless, but not meaningless, she dodges simple tags and demands the physical attention of the listener crafting a complex and obscure work.

    My personal highlights: "Oneiroi", "Serendip", "Chance of Rain" and "Ainnome".
    I'm still digging this record, feeling its meanings and trying to figure out the title and the cover art (Halo selected an eerie drawing). I've got some guesses, but now I feel safe only in order to recommend this stunning work of a gifted musician.    … Collapse

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Dusted Magazine
    Jan 16, 2014
    80
    In a world where electronic music is omnipresent, Laurel Halo succeeds on Chance of Rain in creating a distinctive voice, one that never allows the listener to settle into a sense of security.
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  2. AllMusic
    Dec 11, 2013
    70
    Halo's voice is never heard--likely a relief for those who found Quarantine too unsettling--but this is about as jolly as the cover illustration, drawn by her father.
    Read full review
  3. The Wire
    Dec 10, 2013
    80
    This is dance music, but not as we know it, and a delight to experience. [Oct 2013, p.47]
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