On holiday.  Somewhere hot.  Somewhere oh so in the middle of who knows quite where. 

I am lying next to a swimming pool, no-one is around, all is peace.  If I strain I can make out distant rhythms, but who wants to strain in this heat?  I turn, and see a foreign beastie, which has fallen onto its back.  It flails around a bit, managing to build a slight rocking momentum, almost enough to right itself.  It hangs almost at right angles to the ground…before toppling once again to its back.  As you would expect, this process is repeated over and over, the insect struggling about in silence, tormented by the heat.

I could help it, maybe using a stick or something else which would enable me to prod gently at it from a safe distance (phobia, innit).  But I can barely even be bothered to lift my pina colada, never mind go foraging for long (long long) twigs.  And what would be the point?  What is the average lifespan of one of these things anyway?  It has probably just wasted ten percent of its life riding its imaginary six-pedalled bicycle.  No sane girly insect would want to mate this upside-down loser after such a show of beastly ineptitude.

The insect will probably not be aware of the consequences of its foolishness. It thrashes in blissful ignorance; it is I who have to deal with the thoughts of its mortality and in particular the fact that it is most likely going to be turned to charcoal before long.  I begin to hope that before this happens, the sun will move, covering the creature with a lengthening shadow.  Maximum effect for minimum effort on my part.

I’ve been listening to this album for a few weeks now (not continually), on headphones, rocking back and forth with my hands cupped over my ears.  It has made my head ring with notions that are at once idyllic and fatalistic, as its peaceful five note loop decays into a shadow that I’d rather not confront.

Listen and buy at Boomkat