ambient

Record #1011: Belong – Realistic IX (2024)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

It’s been thirteen years since Belong released their sparkling diamond Common Era. In that time, the shadow of that record grew out into the same edgeless infinity of its droning guitarscapes. That record melded the sounds of iconic records together like a dream you have while listening to a shoegaze and post punk playlist on shuffle. And in the midst of that dream, it Inceptioned itself into an iconic record itself.

It’s a tough record to follow, no matter the gap. But greater records have been followed up with longer gaps and have turned out fine. And while Common Era often felt like a sound study on Loveless, there’s a similar sort of parallel between m b v and Reminisce IX.

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Record #1008: Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd – The Moon & The Melodies (1986)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

As long as I’ve been a fan, Victorialand has been my favorite Cocteau Twins record. It’s an odd moment in their discography to be sure: it was the only record created solely by founders Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie, and it is devoid of any sort of percussion. Instead of their ubiquitous drum machines, they lean more fully into atmospheric washes and endless stretches of echo. My only complaint with it is that it’s only thirty-three minutes long, and that I need more of that version of the band.

There’s some good news there. Because even though Victorialand is the only outright ambient entry in their main catalogue, it does have a fine companion. Later that year, the members of Cocteau Twins—credited by name on the jacket—joined with minimalist composer Harold Budd to create The Moon & The Melodies. And while the name “Cocteau Twins” never actually appears anywhere on the packaging, it’s still very much in the Twins’ wheelhouse.

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Record #967: Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack (1993)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Speaking of the intersection of ambient music and barely decipherable shoegaze, I realized recently that as often as they come up in conversations about shoegaze, drone, post rock, lo-fi, and other noisy scenes that tickle my brain in a nice way, I haven’t dug too deep into Flying Saucer Attack.

Of course, I’m familiar with them by reputation. I’ve even had a copy of Further for years. But my love for the project has not stretched out much beyond that one record. When I was reading about Belong for the last post though, there was an inordinate amount of comparisons to this, FSA’s self-titled record.

While Further is often lifted up as their most significant record, Flying Saucer Attack is much more song-based, implementing more substantial vocals and ubiquitous drum loops alongside the otherworldly ambient guitar experiments they’re remembered for.

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Record #928: Amulets – Blooming (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Ambient music isn’t typically noted for being accessible. The sheer textures and static atmospheres often eschew the most basic elements of melody and rhythm in favor of defiant non-movement. Notes are stretched to infinity, filling a room with sound like a beam of light shining through a window. It is often, by very nature, devoid of emotional resonance or what the common man might consider musicality.

And by reading the descriptions of Amulets’ 2021 record Blooming, you might expect the same thing. There’s a lot of talk about manipulated art installations and endless sound scapes, tape loops manipulated and  magnifying the imperfections of the technology.

But while Blooming is certainly a patient and cerebral bit of ambient music, there is a deep emotional core that gives these eight tracks more weight than your typical ambient fair.

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Record #887: Brian Eno & Kevin Shields – The Weight of History / Only Once Away My Son (2018)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Very few musicians have chased the sonic concept of pure texture with as much steadfastness and fearlessness as Brian Eno. Both as a musician and producer, he is responsible for some of the most gorgeous soundscapes put to tape, practically inventing the idea of ambient music and bringing those lessons into both art punk and more mainstream pop.

But very near the top of list who might give him a run for his money is Kevin Shields, the mastermind behind My Bloody Valentine and an aural savant so consumed by his pursuit of sonic bliss that it borders on pathological (let’s be honest, it’s probably a few steps past that line).

So the mere thought of them joining forces was enough for me to purchase this without hearing a second of it—and of course, it paid off.

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Record #867: BRUIT≤ – The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it can happen again (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

As a post rock fan, I’ve heard a lot of my fellow fans complaining the last several years about how there aren’t any good post rock albums coming out. I have generally dismissed this as your typical “old man yells at cloud” grumpiness. After all, there’s been tons of recent post rock that I’ve absolutely loved.

But then, I heard The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it can happen again by French post rock/modern classical quartet BRUIT≤ (French for “noise”). This record is so great that for a second, I understood what they might have been talking about.

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Record #850: Cremation Lily – Dreams Drenched in Static (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Album art is a funny thing. As often as the warning is given not to judge a [record] by its cover, sometimes the visual aesthetic of the record perfectly matches the sound contained therein.

Take for example Dreams Drenched in Static, the new album from Cremation Lily, the solo project of Zen Zsigo. Soft images of waves, grasses, and sand dunes are torn apart and combined to form a jagged abstract collage. It’s a stunning visual representation of the sounds on the album: gentle elements like ambient guitars, floating keyboards, clean vocals, and laid back drum machines are chopped and manipulated and pasted together to create something that is harshly overexposed and monstrous. But at the same time, beneath the hiss of white noise and squeals of feedback is a sort of zen-like peace, like the warm embrace of the snow after an avalanche.

(And if it sounds like I’m just parroting the promo email from The Flenser, that’s because they quoted me in it).

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Record #846: Eli Kahn – How Are You? No Really…How Are You? (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

If you’ve gone anywhere in South Bend over the last ten years, there’s a non-zero chance that you’ve happened upon a performance by Eli Kahn. You might find him providing mood music at a winery or playing with his jazz duo After Hours at a party or headlining a music festival with the hip hop project The B.E.A.T. or providing a soundtrack for an experimental dance show or creating ambience for an art opening.

He’s practically a local cryptid at this point, playing anywhere and everywhere live music can be found with an impressive array of effects pedals and a custom fanned-fret seven-string (with two bass strings on the bottom).

His first solo record, How Are You? No Really…How Are You? is as comprehensive and delightful CV anyone could ask for from Kahn, tying together diverse influences like lo-fi hip hop, jazz, and post rock.

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Record #844: caroline – caroline (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

There’s a phrase that gets tossed around sometimes: strange beast. And for the life of me, I can’t think of a better description of this record.

It’s as approachable as it is esoteric, as subdued as it is grandiose, as domestic as it is wild, as patient as it is frantic. It feels almost like a big huge fluffy bear-like beast that you want to snuggle up to, even though you know it might rip your head off.

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Record #812: Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Years ago, I purchased Selected Ambient Works, Vol 2. My attempts at listening to the monstrous triple-disc collection of untitled tracks proved fruitless. I eventually sold it, and when I transferred the blog from Tumblr to a standalone site, the original post didn’t even make it over.

As it turns out, I thought I was buying this one. 

I had always meant to fix that in the back of my mind, but never got around to it. But when my podcast cohost brought this album up in a conversation about avant-garde and experimental music, I decided to correct my error.

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