Customer Reviews

Third Chamber

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Forget the cavilling of pop junkies, The Third Chamber shines as perhaps Loop Guru's most entrancing journey through inner mindscapes. Featuring consummate musicianship and masterful mixes, this disk joins The Fountains of Paradise and Catalogue of Desires to form a triad of lush, ecstatic ambience stamped with the defining characteristic of Loop Guru: profundity mingled with whimsy. For mature mentalities only.

Simply put, Loop Guru are the masters at what they do. What do they do? They lay down layers upon layers of sounds from around the world into one song. From African to eastern to medieval to modern. Loop Guru are one of only a handful of bands with this much talent and The Third Chamber is no exception. Those looking for beats need not apply. Such seekers should look into Amrita, Loop Bites Dog and Duniya. 3 masterpieces also by Loop Guru.

I'm a big fan of Loop Guru: their elegant blend of third world grooves, exotic samples and colorful electronica often graces my CD player. So after listening a trillion times to their other albums, specifically "Loop Bites Dog" and "Amrita" (two must-haves), I looked forward to completing my collection with "The Third Chamber."

What I got was, well, a full hour's worth of ambience. AMBIENT ambience. Lull-you-to-sleep ambience. 5 songs, ranging in length from 6 minutes to nearly 18. Quiet rhythms, quiet loops and quiet synth washes, ad infinitum.

If you enjoy outfits like the Orb and think you might dig a little extra flavoring of world music and twittering birds, then perhaps "The Third Chamber" is for you. For those who prefer to stay awake while listening to music, though, stick with Loop Guru's other work. I'm giving this three stars because of the usual care and craft that the musicians put into it, but Loop Guru has filled many CDs with much more creative and passionate music. Seek them out.

Rated the cd cause you have to to submit a review. Not sure what I'd give it because I simply haven't listened to enough of it yet. Right off the bat, however, I can tell you that this cd is quite different from Duniya. It's much for calm, moreso than Catalogue of Desires. Duniya is still my favorite with its beautiful basslines and vocals. This cd is for relaxing and meditating, not for energizing. One more thing to note, there are very few vocals (if any) on this album compared to Duniya.

Well, I finally listened to this cd all the way through, and then I listened to it again, and again, and again. I still cannot get into this album! I totally agree with the review "100% pure ambience from Loop Guru". His review pretty much sums up my feelings. I got this CD because of the rating from allmusic.com. It was like four stars or something; I've noticed they like ambient stuff more. This album might be more 'developed' or something, but I just do not feel the vibe. I actually enjoyed "Catalogue of Desires, Vol. 3" more than "The Third Chamber". Even though that album does not have much oomph either, there are at least a couple tracks I can get into -- "After Dark With Reel Tones" is simply breath-taking. I cannot get into a SINGLE track on The Third Chamber.

Well, I finally listened to this cd all the way through, and then I listened to it again, and again, and again. I still cannot get into this album! I totally agree with the review "100% pure ambience from Loop Guru". His review pretty much sums up my feelings. I got this CD because of the rating from allmusic.com. It was like four stars or something; I've noticed they like ambient stuff more. This album might be more 'developed' or something, but I just do not feel the vibe. I actually enjoyed "Catalogue of Desires, Vol. 3 more than "The Third Chamber". Even though that album does not have much oomph either, there are at least a couple tracks I can get into -- "After Dark With Reel Tones" is simply breath-taking. I cannot get into a SINGLE track on The Third Chamber.