Fabio Orsi & Valeri Cosi - Thoughts Melt in the Air

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

What is so striking about Thoughts Melt in the Air is its vibrant optimism. These songs are nailed perfectly, and do what good drone and free noise should do: create a new world for the listener. The pieces sound alive, like they have conscious intentions. The pacing of this album is excellent, solidifying this duo as icons of top-flight experimentalist noise-scapery. Fabio Orsi and Valerio Cosi have collaborated a lot in recent years, and I will be paying close attention to part three of their "Apulian Trilogy". Bravo.

Mokira - Persona

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

Mokira has made a mature-sounding album. It's also pretty: pretty boring. The spark of life is dim. I hear his previous album, Album, is much better, and I'll go find that one. As a fan of ambient music, I believe there are other musicians doing this sort of thing much better.

The Spacemen 3 ode "Oscillations and Tremolo" takes the cake, though, for its flaccid attempt at profundity. Just as the title suggests, it's a slowly-metamorphing series of synthesized patterns. The only time I found this song interesting was while out on a long walk, when the negative space between the oscillations gave way to the constant sound of traffic. The song became a ghost of its former self; almost unheard. You can perform this experiment on your own, by the way, by repeatedly cupping your ears with your hands, but Mokira does it for ten minutes - beat that! If you're just relaxing at home without loud background noise, this track just reeks of annoyance. It's like waking up at 8 a.m. in the abandoned post-rave factory and realizing that someone left the strobe light on. Ugh. Take me to Denny's.