ambient / folk

Boring Machines

From crushing death metal riffs to calm acoustic guitar fingerpicking, we at Merchants Of Air like ourselves a bit of variation. I don't think that's really a surprise for most of our readers. Throughout the years we have been getting comments about the versatility in genres on this website. It seems like everything is possible here.

But enough about us, let's dive into these 'Standing Waters' by Italian guitarist Maurizio Abate, a soothing blend of folk and ambient with a minimal touch of drone and with a warm, comforting atmosphere. That is pretty much all I need right now. 

The digital version on bandcamp opens with a track titled 'Teaser Track' while 'Odonata' opens the physical edition. Shortly after pressing play, on either one of these tracks by the way, I'm imagining a walk over an Italian beach on a warm summer evening while nearby a street musician is playing beautiful, romantic but melancholic tunes on his acoustic guitar. It alternates between blissful folk and mesmerizing ambient soundscapes.

'Shaping The Mud' is my absolute favorite here, an acoustic track that dares to look forward and issues influences from post-rock. It's followed by the lingering 'Nymphs Dance', which feels like a long solo jam session. That musician from the previous paragraph is now carefully experimenting, testing melodies and plucking techniques. I like that. Halfway through the track I'm already doubting if this should be my favorite instead of the previous track.

But I guess that doesn't matter. All that matters is that this album is filled with acoustic guitar goodness. 'Pond Mood' is another one of those inspiring pieces of music, one with an immersive sound and a nostalgic atmosphere. 'Standing/Crumbling' is yours to discover, dear reader, and I urge you to try it out. This is a beautiful album, one that digs right into the essence of music and right into your soul. 


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death metal

punk / hardcore

sludge metal / noise rock

death metal

death metal

post rock / post metal

alternative rock

electronic / alternative / experimental / trip hop

indie / alternative rock

post rock

black metal / "funeral grunge"

black metal

sludge metal / doom / krautrock

ambient / experimental / noise

Serge

acoustic / folk

Now here is something different, apparently coming right out of the French black metal scene but nothing to do with black metal whatsoever. To make it easier for myself, I categorized this album under "folk" and "acoustic" but there is so much more to this than being another folk album.

When you look at the influences, you might understand. Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Brian Eno but also Sunn O))), Ulver and Pink Floyd are in there and in a way you can hear all of them, be it in an acoustic setting. So don't expect any bombast or intense riffing. Expect to dwell in awesome acoustic music.

Spectrale is the brainchild of Jeff Grimal, musician and artist. For this project, he chose for acoustic and esoteric exploration. Acoustic guitars, cello and drums make up most of the music and often some shamanic vocals appear as well. I can't help but think of acts like Barn Owl but Spectrale seems to handle things differently. They balance on the edge between folk, ambient and progressive rock music with an immersive and hypnotic sound. Hell, even Anathema comes to mind at times.

In the end, the album will probably fit in best between your ritual ambient albums but I can just as well see these guys play at a festival like Desertfest. The whole thing is simply a thrilling and exciting musical journey. I'm not going into a song by song description but I can tell you that tracks like 'Andromede' and 'Landing' are masterfully crafted pieces of music and they are far from the only ones on this album. Check it out, it's different but it's also a very welcome addition to your collection.


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