I only recently got into Loscil, and what a wonderful discovery that was. Over the past few months I've been listening through his entire catalog and picking up the albums that appeal to me. Out of all the records that I own from this project, First Narrows may be my favorite.
First Narrows, much like the other Loscil albums I have is rather minimal. There are not many instruments utilized within a song, though the sound design throughout is quite varied and well thought out.
While this is ambient, it is not lacking in melody... in fact most of the album is driven by it. Those melodies are repeated throughout the songs that they are created in and act as the back bone of the track. The rest of the track slowly morphs from one shape to another, but more often than not that original melody is there at every moment.
As monotonous as this sounds, it's actually the albums greatest strength. The songs are so well composed that they keep evolving and often I forget that the melody is the same thought the entirety... only to be reminded sometimes when the track will slip back into the way it started. It's an alluring effect and it's what draws me to come back to First Narrows time and time again.
Loscil has always had low key music, but the music on First Narrows is downright tranquil. This tranquility mixed with the hypnotic repetition of the music is simply outstanding. This project is quickly becoming one of my favorites within the ambient genre, and albums like First Narrows is why.
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