The bizarrely clunky title of Spencer Stephenson’s debut as Botany reflects the LP’s similarly bonkers concept, which narrates the tale of a fictional sect awaiting a volcano eruption. While that suggests Lava Diviner could be a tiresomely pompous ride, the Texan has actually crafted a beautifully ornate work of epic electronica. Pieces flow amorphously into one another, their oozing, molten textures perfectly reflecting the LP’s theme, and charting gradual shifts in mood.
Rhythmically, the record betrays the influence of the LA scene, all stuttering, distorted hip-hop breaks and lolloping samples (indeed, Brainfeeder’s RYAT provides chopped-up guest vocals on several tracks). Combined with Stephenson’s visionary imagination, those rhythmic tropes are rinsed…
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…of generic predictability; Lava Diviner encompasses them within a wider soundscape of chants, drones, strings and murky samples. The end result is that rare thing, an (essentially) instrumental electronica record with a strong sense of narrative cohesion.