ambient Archive
08 Apr 2023
Album Review: Leon Alvarado — Charging the Electric Dream
I’ve covered at least two previous releases from Leon Alvarado. 2014’s Music from an Expanded Universe was a kind of ambient chillwave set; The Future Left Behind (2016) leaned in […]
12 Feb 2023
Album Review: Bruce Licher — Exploratorium
Bruce Licher is guitarist in post-punk band Savage Republic; that L.A.-based group has flown well under the commercial radar. But they came to my attention years ago when I read […]
13 Dec 2022
Album Review: The Comet is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam
Despite what some stuck-in-the-past nostalgic types might assert, there’s plenty of good (and sometimes even great) music being made today. The best artists still find ways to offer up something […]
08 Dec 2022
Album Review: Talkdemonic – Various Seasides
The name is a classic case of misdirection, and that’s just the beginning. Read up a bit on Talkdemonic and you might not be prepared for what their latest album […]
22 Nov 2022
Album Reviews: David Javelosa – Atomic Odyssey! and Modern Work Volume One
David Javelosa is an inspired musician whose work is primarily synthesizer-based. But his bent, whimsical and playful approach to music results in sounds that are far from the “serious” kind […]
09 Oct 2022
Album Review: Jan Hammer – Seasons Pt. 2
Listeners of a certain age know Jan Hammer for his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Jeff Beck; younger ones will recall his “Miami Vice Theme.” In recent years his […]
18 Apr 2022
Hundred-word Reviews for April 2022, Part 2
Picking up where I left off yesterday, here are five more brief capsule reviews of new albums. This is a remarkably eclectic assortment. Speedfossil – No Anesthesia If you like […]
20 Dec 2021
Album Review: Popol Vuh – Vol. 2: Acoustic & Ambient Spheres
In 2019, BMG put together a boxed set of five important albums by krautrock/ambient group Popol Vuh. The Essential Album Collection Vol. 1 featured vinyl re-pressings of Affenstunde (1970), 1972’s […]
29 Nov 2021
EP Review: Limina – Hidden Spaces
Tyler Durham is best known for scoring film and games. His latest project is Limina, and Hidden Spaces is a 12-inch vinyl EP. Recorded over the course of May to […]
23 Nov 2021
Album Review: Blue Glass – Jardin des Étoiles
The placid aural landscape that opens Jardin des Étoiles sets the tone for this collection: contemplative, slightly woozy and with a hint of danger. The artist describes the album as […]