Buoyant

Personnel: Dirk Serries (electric guitar).
Recording information: 2014.
Buoyant is the first collaboration between Dirk Serries (Vidna Obmana, Fear Falls Burning) and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek), two astoundingly prolific musicians who have explored many different modes of ambient, drone, and experimental music. The album is a near-seamless blend of Serries' warm, reflective guitar-based drone and Zuydervelt's alien, occasionally difficult electro-acoustic soundscapes. Serries' clear, resounding guitar textures combine gracefully with Zuydervelt's softly rustling, buzzing noises and distortion effects, occasionally settling into hypnotic loops such as on the pulsating "The Whispering Scale." The slightly darker "Unraveled Blanket" taps into Tim Hecker/Fennesz-like territory, but without the breathtaking crescendos that those artists often head toward. Which isn't to say that this album is underwhelming or anti-climactic. It's calm and meditative, but there's still something slightly off-center and wobbly about it, making it easy to listen to and enjoy, but any listener who might be expecting this to be some sort of new age album will likely be caught off guard. ~ Paul Simpson