- There's a certain measure of patience audible in Arc One, Go Hiyama's first record for Token since 2010's Survival. The lead synth in "Farnsworth House," for instance, seems to take forever to lift out of the track's oppressive bowels. Even once it's finished inching into earshot, its thick, convulsing tone stays unchanged, looping endlessly. The other elements in the linear journey—4/4 white noise, gritty stabs and rock-hard snares—come slowly too, each shining briefly before slinking away to let the track's thrumming hypnosis take hold again.
"Dymaxion Map" and "Fallingwater" are able to maintain this feeling of calm assuredness, despite resting on beds of glitchy, frenetic drums. The former replaces the throb of "Farnsworth House" with a wiry motif, wresting it into asymmetrical shapes and flinging them at murky shards of melody. The latter is much simpler, revolving around just a single tone. An abrasive digital foghorn is the best way it might be described, but once again, it's delivered with extreme patience, blaring for several charged minutes as drums and piercing chords flit alongside. This type of robust simplicity is at the heart of Arc One, a record that's both hypnotising and invigorating.
Tracklist A1 Farnsworth House
A2 Dymaxion Map
B Falling Water