OPM: Synths and Sensibility

Plague Relic – Cursed Castle

A suitably dark and doomy album of dungeon synth atmospherics livened up with a dollop of kosmische. The first few tracks in particular highlight the relations between these two genres. And despite one existing for underground raiding parties, and one to propel you on astral journeys thru the stars, they match up nicely! 

The later tracks settle more comfortably into vast, gloom-and-doom aesthetics – slow sweeps of distorted timbre, distant bell sounds, generally dungeon-friendly sounds. The album as a whole is a solid listen throughout, perfect for soundtracking your descent into the deep levels, preparing you for what you might find there…

(Listened to the entire album)

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Forest Dweller – Forever Elusive

Gentle, old-school ambient with a tiny touch of abstract IDM thrown in to keep things fresh. Largely pulseless and drifting, these pieces unfold like a lazy, stoned Sunday afternoon, where each thought or sensation slides thru a haze of blissful relaxation to be perceived for a moment and then lost forever. 

Lush production allows you to really hear each tiny element and focus on its slow revelation and evolution. Minimal and gorgeous, focused on the moment and the freedom of living in the now, this is an absolutely lovely way to drift off into inner space. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Doctor Deathray – Nowhere

Raw and seething collection of goth blues and punk psychedelia. The core of this music is a swampy take on the blues fused to the sneering ethos of punk. That’s colored and shaped by a brooding, angry take on goth and the kind of weirdo psychedelic vibe that comes out when you squeeze real hard on these ingredients. 

It makes for a strong collection of songs steeped in the sport of haunted energy you’d expect from a punk blues band that usually plays in graveyards. The material is strong throughout, and it all comes to a head for “Back Away,” the best song on the album and one that sounds like Interpol finally doing something interesting. There’s also a cover of Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc” if you need a familiar point of entry.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Coraline Ada Ehmke – Source (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

An incredible sonic journey thru abstract musical spaces that serves as a showcase for the wonders of synthesized sound. This is an album for the synth nerds – my ear picked out a few classic synths here and there, but more to the point, it was constantly bathed in sweet, sweet synthesized timbres. 

From the rough and distorted to the sublime and inviting, all points in the sonic spectrum are utilized. The arrangements and composition draw from ambient and IDM, but whichever genre you choose to represent it, just know that the sound is the thing. An absolute smorgasbord of synthesized texture, timbre and tone. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Robin Herold – .me.to.me. (to you)

A set of largely acoustic, gentle singer-songwriter pieces with just enough edge to the compositions to elevate it above the fray. The album was recorded live and hews to a set of love songs, which might suggest a certain obvious outcome, but there’s definitely a few surprises to be found. 

Yes, if you don’t find voice and acoustic guitar enough to hold your attention, you’ll probably skip this one. But because these aren’t just straight acoustic ballads, there’s some more to be discovered. Some slightly unusual structures, off-kilter influences, and small vocal stylings all kick in to help keep things fresh and lively. And hey, if you just like saddish songs on acoustic guitar, you’ll probably like it, too. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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