January 9, 2008 • Serein
Unknown Language is an album that just sort of fell into my lap one day, but I figured I love ambient music so I'll take it. And fortunately, it's pretty good! It's nothing new but it is a good example of the genre as it flourished in the last decade.
The Inventors of Aircraft is relatively simple, drone-based ambient, basically like a slowed-down Stars of the Lid or a less-noisy Tim Hecker. In addition to the drones that make up the backbone of each piece, there is also some subtle noise and fluttery sound effects that add to the mood. The subsonic rumblings in "Passing", for instance, are a particularly cool example of effects creating a really neat atmosphere.
It's nothing revolutionary or original, but it does manage to nail down the formula very well. Sometimes it's pleasant and pretty ("Hazel") and sometimes it's dark and unnerving ("Signs"); either way I think it does a fine job. However it's very difficult to pay attention to, something which I suppose is a good thing for ambient (but a bad thing for reviewing it), which is a bit unfortunate as there are some very subtle things going on that are really cool but easy to miss.
There are a lot of good ideas on this album, and it does sound really nice most of the time, although in the long run I'm not really interested in listening to it that often as it doesn't captivate me enough—although, as I said, it makes excellent background music. I would very much like to hear something a bit more progressive from The Inventors of Aircraft, but for traditional ambient fans this is still definitely a solid listen.
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