Eric Fourman – Lyrica

November 24, 2010 • self-released

I hope I never get tired of ambient music, because as much as I've complained about the bad stuff before, when it shines, it shines. Eric Fourman's work is up there with my favorites, Lyrica being a prime example of how to pull off a great ambient work.

The sound itself falls pretty heavily on the lighter side of the Ambient Mood Continuum with light, blissful, layered drones, although there is always a bit of an edge present throughout, just a touch of noise to keep it grounded. It doesn't really evoke any particular mood, but wind and sunshine make good candidates. The layers themselves are really nice, an ambient baklava of synths, drones, and subtle static, which evolves ever so slowly but is somehow always able to capture my attention and reward close listening even though it doesn't do particularly much.

What makes this piece especially great is how it subverts pretty much every problem ambient can have. It's long, but not drawn out; it's layered, but not dense or complex; it's simple, but not homogenous to the point of banality; it's pretty without being too saccharine. Despite being improvised it's structured perfectly with a swelling, grandiose section and a perfect denouement. I can honestly not find anything bad to say about it: it opens up, does what it needs to do, and ends without becoming stale.

Okay, here's a complaint: Now I have to go digging through the rest of Fourman's extensive discography, because Lyrica is great but dammit it just isn't enough.

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