Rural Tapes – ‘Oneiric’ album review: Pleasant electronics to provide soothing dreams
Dreams are a fascinating thing, and something that I’ve long had a fascination with. Some can be fantastical, while others confusing, and there are those which you can’t help but revisit time and time again, whether good or bad. On Oneiric, the fifth studio album by Norwegian electronic artist Rural Tapes, it appears that he, too, has a fascination with where the mind takes you in moments of fleeting lucidity.
The Skinny: Over the course of its dozen tracks, the album sees multi-instrumentalist Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen approach this dreamlike state from multiple angles, with some songs presenting themselves as wistful meditations, and others transporting the listener to realms beyond our comprehension. Using a vibrant palette of electronic sounds created on analogue equipment, Mathisen conjures up a world that is surreal, yet oddly familiar.
At times, there are similarities between his work and the exploits of other Scandinavian psychedelic explorers, with the works of Sven Wunder and Dungen coming to mind on the trippier, jazz-inflected cuts such as ‘Flower Lab’ and ‘Bird’s-Eye View’, but that doesn’t mean that the entire project ends up being derivative of its peers. Other moments are calmer and adopt a more sombre mood, allowing those soaking up the sonics to get pensive as they sink deeper into the atmosphere.
From kitschy space-age pop to ambient electronica, there are plenty of genres explored on Oneiric, making for a playful album that doesn’t sit too comfortably in a sound for an unwelcome amount of time, and given how there are only two tracks with vocals on, coming courtesy of guest spots from Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and The Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson, the music has to do plenty of heavy lifting when it comes to grabbing attention.
The Verdict: There are moments where ideas are too thinly spread, such as on ‘Hypermnesia’, where the soundscapes don’t evolve enough to hold down interest, but then again, not every dream has to be riveting or memorable. The mind takes us to fascinating places when you’re drifting in and out of consciousness, and for the most part, so does Oneiric.
Defining track – ‘Fantasia’
Release Date: October 17th, 2025 | Producer: Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen | Label: Clay Pipe Music
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.