Modern Nature – ‘The Heat Warps’ album review: Bringing much needed structure to the studio jam
The essence of great music surely lies in the jam space. That moment of improvisational freedom that signposts nuggets of musical greatness. Maybe it’s a guitar lick, a vocal hook or just a humble chord sequence. Whatever it is, it’s the modern-day equivalent of witnessing the first spark of fire on an exhausted piece of flint. Maybe that’s why Modern Nature called this record The Heat Warps.
Modern Nature’s fifth album offers a focused snapshot into what happens when you concentrate on that improvisational essence and not allow it to stray you too far into the abstract. The introduction of their newest member, guitarist Tara Cunningham, has offered some welcomed direction to their sound, while still allowing the band’s de facto leader Jack Cooper to thrust it into the textural unknown.
Jim Wallis’ drums set a sludgy yet patient rhythmic precedent for this album, calmly reminding those around him that anything goes. You need space for this guitar to hang? No drama. You want to remove your vocals and allow the next verse to remain instrumental? You got it, this drum beat will be your steady friend and allow you to do as you please. It envelopes the entire record in a precise sense of calm and acts as the crucial lynchpin for whatever experiment is required.
In the opening tracks, ‘Pharaoh’ and ‘River’, it’s luscious and ethereal, allowing harmonies to follow the noodling lines of Cunningham’s guitar with an upbeat ease. But ‘Glance’ turns a somewhat darker corner that hints towards the valley the narrative needs to tackle, before it can go any further. It’s urgent and structured, in a way Modern Nature haven’t yet been before and acts as the album’s melodic shake-off, letting loose of any anxiety before looking upwards.
Because after ‘Source’ when Cooper’s vocals are front and centre, brazenly claiming that “It’s getting worse”, almost like the captain of a sinking ship providing one last swansong, the tide turns. It would ordinarily seem somewhat of an isolated and lonely record, if it wasn’t for the compositional backdrop that joins him. Whatever despondency Cooper sings of, Cunningham is there riding by his side, corralling him with her guitar.
The change takes place in ‘Alpenglow’, the almost polka-like melody that effectively puts one foot in front of another, leading the listener to the record’s beautiful closer, ‘Totality’. It’s easy to see how this track was inspired by the standstill beauty of witnessing a solar eclipse. It’s six minutes that grants the listener to be fully absorbed in what is taking place in the present moment and showcases the refinement in ideas the band have perfected on this record.
Defining track: ‘Source’ – its experimentalism and structure combine to perfect effect, but most importantly, foregrounds the much-welcomed inclusion of Tara Cunningham to the band.
For fans of: Modern meditation guided by noise-cancelling headphones and guitar lines.
A concluding from Jack Cooper during ‘Pharaoh’: “Seriously, more cowbell!”
Release date: August 29th, 2025 | Producer: Jack Cooper | Label: Bella Union
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