Apollo Architect - The Cutting​-​Room Floor

Apollo Architect

The Cutting​-​Room Floor
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

At the beginning of this year Bipin Kumar aka Apollo Architect released The Wanderer. The EP explores the genre of post-rock with all its tropes that we have come to know from artists such as Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It has a theme, which is apparently about a boy who leaves his home to understand his purpose in life. The wordless story is completed with The Cutting​-​Room Floor EP.

Kumar mixes it up a bit more on this album and each song has its own vibe and feel. I would argue that The Cutting​-​Room Floor EP is more complete and diverse sounding than its predecessor. It starts off with “Lights In The Sky” which is a track with a decent amount of momentum. Ominous synth and guitars create a vibe that is comparable to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. For a post-rock standard the song is predictable but well delivered. 

“Idea” is another lesson in post-rock but this time Kumar embraces clean guitar at least for a while. Right before the two-minute mark the song become more intense and shoots for the stars. 

Kumar starts to veer away from post-rock with the enjoyable “Quiet.” The song is sparse, free of percussion and revolves around pretty string work. It’s a tranquil piece and one of the best Kumar has done. “A Mixup (ft. The ShatterGlass Project)” is the highlight of the EP and has a distinct hip-hop feel that isn’t too far away from Prefuse 73. The song’s finest moment comes about a-minute-and-a-half in where everything comes together. Good stuff.

“Sunlight” is an atmospheric, ambient piece that is well done while the closer “This Is Not For You” reverts to Kumar's post-rock sensibilities. 

The Cutting​-​Room Floor EP seems to be a slight improvement over The Wanderer EP. That being said I would like to hear an improvement when it comes to the production at some point. It’s certainly not bad but there were a couple of things such as more separation between instruments and more defined low-end which could have made the experience even better.

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