Radiarc has just released a wonderfully dark, cinematic album featuring some haunting sound design, excellent use of samples, and brilliant pacing. Walk through each track after the break.
The album begins with “I’ve Missed You”, a post-rock track that- while initially expressive and grooving- evolves into a much darker soundscape. A fitting warning of what’s to come: the latter half of the track exhibits a more ominous vibe featuring distant wails and crawling strings.
The second piece, a dark ambient track titled “Tides”, continues the ominous theme with the distant droning of pads. The melody is subtly textured by the ringing of metallic percussion and the sounds of running water.
“Home” introduces some chirps of electronica among the echoes of distant percussive hits. The soundscape evolves into a sustained pad in the second half after temporarily dropping the rhythmic elements. The track concludes with the growls of ambient rumbles.
The fourth track, a very organic ambient piece titled “Finality”, starts off with the texture of bubbling water. The low ringing of metallic gongs stretches out as the track crawls around the rumbles of the occasional booming of a distant drum. A muted piano pushes the composition into the fifth track.
The thoughtful melodies of a piano introduce “Amnion” before it descends into the slow, heartbeat-like pulses of a kickdrum. Paced by gasps of emptiness, a rising tense of tension dissolves into some final trailing notes of piano.
The closing track of the album dramatically starts with the buzzing of frayed electrical equipment, panicked expressions of distress, and an intense build into a crescendo of noise where a choir and electronic distortions dominate the moment. An industrial beat crashes into the fray which marches forth into a melodic breakout- a moment’s reprieve before the tensions of the industrial soundscape crash back in. The layers of the composition progressively fade as the album concludes.
A beautiful exhibition of composition and atmosphere, Radiarc does a great job in illustrating a meaningful and intriguing soundscape. While the transitions between tracks could be designed to be more aware of each other, the album is well paced and is certainly a collection that should prove to captivate anyone looking for some well constructed ambiance.
Horse Music Herald 