Friday, August 5, 2022

Entry 012 - Wordclock - A Greater Bliss

 

 

If there is one album that can sum up my ever evolving musical tastes it is likely this one. It has a rare combination of genres that come together in a way that is musical bliss to my ears.

What Wordclock has done on this album (and Heralds before it) is combine dark ambient with jazz and unusual instrumentation for the genre to create an atmosphere that hits nearly every single button of my musical tastes. Is it dark? Yep. Is it complex? Yep. Does it warrant repeated listens? Yes. Does it use the instrumentation in unique and more importantly interesting ways? You bet. Is it good? Damn straight it is.

A Greater Bliss takes a basic dark ambient approach and layers acoustic instrumentation above it. Subtle jazz hints are thrown in via infrequent uses of both a trumpet and saxophone. The song structures can also be attributed to jazz when they are there. This combination is not often heard and when I do hear it I'm instantly sucked in - when this record hits my table its days before it leaves... it may be one of the first records that I have to replace due to overplaying in quite some time.

Both sides tell a slightly different story, side 1 is more subtle and laid back in its approach. Side 2 is much more dynamic, including spoken word and even full choirs into the mix while never really leaving that acoustic driven dark ambient.

This album certainly inst for everyone, however if you find your taste in music to be on the darker and more subtle side then A Greater Bliss is certainly worth a listen.

Top ten album 2021

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