Sad, melancholy ambient music is music made for the lonely souls to contemplate the cosmos and the love or lack of it in between. This type of sound which has been more or less perfected by artists like Stars of The Lid, Windy and Carl, Auburn Lull, Max Richter, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Fennesz and Ben Lukas Boysen is perfect for quiet walks by the lake and on Sunday mornings. A time to wait is a solo artist who recently released Intrusive Thoughts and he tries to capture the lonely, contemplative feelings with texture and tones that reflect the same feeling.
intrusive Thoughts seems to be the initial groundwork for future work that will hopefully be a little more nuanced and competitive with the aforementioned artists. The ideas are simple and usually form around a couple of notes that repeat. Ambient music is all about the details. It’s the subtle changes in a resonance filter, the change in a reverb tail and the intricacy that makes it really captivating. It's dedicated headphone music. The artist behind these songs has some good ideas and there was some tweaking in the details but I often wanted more experimentation within the soundscapes. Up first is “i really miss taking naps after school with you” which revolves around a steady, somber guitar riff. There are samples of people talking which reminded me of conversations I would have in college as an undergrad after smoking some pot. The melody deepens the emotional impact, however the music doesn’t intensify or change much at all. I have to admit I feel like Godspeed You! Black Emperor perfected this idea. Up next is “i wish i had a swimming pool so i could drown in it” which revolves around a filtered beat, pads and reverb laced guitars. There is a sort of climax and I thought this was one of the highlights. The idea was good even if the implementation could use a little tweaking. As much as I love this style of music “a ballad for the hollow soul” was testing my patience. The melody is very subtle and is a fog of dismal sounds. As the album progresses it’s built upon very little movement. The songs attempt to combine a zen like stillness with the depression and pain from the artist so the listener can empathize with their own internal sadness. The lyrics on “i can't be anything” reflect the mood he paints the entire time. He sings, “i hate myself every night I’m drowning in apathy and ecstasy of all of these pills that i take every night.” As the lyrics progress I was honestly getting a little worried for the artist’s safety. There is no ambiguity here and the words made Elliott Smith lyrics seem jovial. I know what the artist is going for. There are a couple of pieces I suggest that display where this type of music could go. “Glide” by Fennesz, “Fac 21” by Stars of the Lid and “Immunity” by Jon Hopkins. I think there is potential here and encourage the artist to dig a little deeper into where these soundscapes can go. The thing about this music is that people without an empty chasm of pain in their hearts don’t understand that these types of sounds aren’t depressing to the depressed, sad and lonely - they provide solace.
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May 2024
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