Style: Melodic ambient with a subtle hint of techno
Primary Emotions/Themes: Looking at the horizon right before dawn. The beauty and radiance of the night sky being slowly erased by the warmth of the sun and a new day.
Thoughts: I stood at the edge of the world facing the endless ocean. The night had been ever-present since I could remember. As the skies darkened so did our lust for hope. The light from the stars was but a hint of a distant memory, an ever fading dream of blue.
Only here, where all things end was I able to come to a new beginning. Looking down into the endless waves I finally saw it. It was more radiant than anything I had seen before, more bountiful than the most alluring simulations.
My eyes could not handle this newfound light. It was too much, I had to look away. I feared to do so, knowing I may not ever see it again. When my eyes returned to the sight, it had not disappeared. It had only grown stronger. A light crested upon the horizon. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before. Dawn.
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There is something about this album. Something magical that transcends the music. It pierces me and slowly envelops me in it's captivating embrace. There is a beautiful darkness and horrible light that comes from this album. Things that should not be comforting are, and things that should be comforting offer little respite.
The wonder of the album starts with the title track. It's a gloomy mix of BVDub's traditional haze mixed with minimalistic melodies that repeat for nearly the entire twenty minutes. Unlike other albums around this time, he does not shy away from the techno influences of Serenity and instead embraces them. They are not as overt or as ever present as one might expect, but they are present enough that they add a strong backbone to the music.
Drowning in Daylight as an album is an exercise in depth and layers. The longer the songs deliberate the more singular components are added in. By the end the song that started out simple is now a multilayered complex of emotions and thoughts.
Do not mistake this for overwhelming however. Nothing about this album is overt. Even with eight to ten different things going on in the song, they all sync up in such a way that they are in discrete symbiosis rather than in competition with each other for my attention.
It's this gentle tension that brings an uneasiness to the music though. As the song progresses I get a sense that things are in subtle conflict with each other, even though the music sounds so harmonious. It's only when everything is stripped away to its base components that I feel truly at peace with the record.
This ebb and flow is what gives Drowning in Daylight its character. It brings about deep emotions in me and reminds me so much of why I love BVDub's music. This is probably my second favorite album of his, second only to Serenity. The very definition of outstanding music.
Written May 20th 2024
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