Mindwarden – Timeless (2022; Cryo Chamber)
This is a very nice and mellow piano-based set of cinematic ambient pieces. As much in common with electronic pioneers like Tangerine Dream and Steve Roach as their darker successors, Mindwarden still provides a handful of ominous passages with sculpted staticky noises, as well as gentle scraping and slithering. Timeless can serve as a gateway for those versed in ambient and drone to the more extreme edges of the genre.
Colonial Skyway – Evening on Earth (2022; Submarine Broadcasting Company)
Colonial Skyway is Wisconsin-based Matthew Anderson, who offers up a set of almost-pure drones. Aside from the requisite chords and oscillations, there are a few additional lo-fi repetitive elements that resemble decayed machinery. Thus, Evening on Earth is quite minimal in its approach, nearly hypnogogic. The result is disquieting, representative of industrial and social decay that can be found, for example, in various small towns along the U.S. Rust Belt.
Død – Allegory of Death (2021; Bandcamp)
Død is a project from one who calls themself A, and represents core ritual dark ambient. Drifting ominous waves combine with haunting vocalizations and crackling background noises. Heartbeat rhythms serve as a grounding for exploratory electronics and drones. One of the more memorable tracks begins with the sounds of footsteps in snow accompanied by church bells, before unseen horrors crawl from the depths. The theme of Allegory of Death is unsurprisingly funereal and the album aptly evokes this inevitable end of us all.
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