Impasse is a sideways journey into the archives of London-based artist Luke Younger, a.k.a. Helm. Conceived six years ago in the wake of a Birds of Delay tour, the album originally saw the light of day in an abridged version as a mini-CDR on the Low Point label in 2008. This remastered and expanded reissue has the two original tracks along with two others from the same sessions that remained unmixed until a couple of years ago. Impasse appears as somewhat of an anomaly in the Helm canon when viewed alongside recent live performances and his work for labels like Pan and Kye. Where other works explore the mystery inherent in everyday sounds and acoustic phenomena, Impasse is significantly brighter in tone. Consisting of four loop-based pieces, the record invokes the same fantastic worlds found in Terry Riley's or Boyd Rice's early ambient pieces. Picture a functional family vacation, an explorer at the apex of his endeavors, a 4:00 AM drinking session with new liquids discovered. Bright corners, euphoric angles and ecstatic drones come together for an emotionally charged high that reflects these unique moments in the human experience. The beauty of Helm lies in its implacable curiosity, the way his music observes the current state of being. Released in a limited edition with artwork by Graham Lambkin, Impasse is another sublime offering from one of the UK's sharpest cats.
