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5.0 out of 5 stars
Another masterpiece, September 8, 2008
This review is from: Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether (Audio CD)
On their sophomore release "Feral Vapours of the Silver Ether", Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti tone down the more percussive sound of their debut "Cabal" and go for a more purely ambient sound. More organic sound finds its way into the mix... strings and pianos dominate beautiful tracks such as "Torn Window" and "Woven Clouds",and contrary to what the album title would suggest, the mysterious psychedelic mist of "Cabal" has cleared a little; Cosey's soft, pretty vocals are less electronically mutated, her lyrics more audible and universal in character... She discusses love, personality, the things in life anyone would know and understand, a contrast to the disconnected, introverted moan of "All this has no matter at all..." from "Unreality" on "Cabal". It's a much more worldly album, and ends up possessing a lot more raw emotional intensity for it.
Oddly enough, in atmosphere it reminds me more than anything of Brian Eno's classic
Ambient 1: Music for Airports... it has the same oddly comforting melancholy about it, that sense of nostalgic remembering. The album cover fits the music masterfully.
The album is, like "Cabal", perfectly consistent, listenable and memorable. It's an extension of the mind trip that album was; different and yet familiar, equal in quality. While anyone who needs beats in their electronic music should probably check out "Cabal" instead, anyone looking for a relaxing, pretty album of ambient music (although this album does include plenty of audible vocal melodies) should check this out. It avoids many of the pitfalls ambient artists fall into... it never once gets overly repetitive or monotonous, and has the depth to reward repeated listening. I'm personally blown away by this. 5 stars.
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