Tiago Benzinho – Roses of Time I

March 10, 2012 • self-released

I've been skimping out on my modern classical lately, and I'm kicking myself for it; there's so much more new stuff out there than Arvo Pärt and whatnot just waiting for me to find it. I was recommended this album some time ago and only just now finally got around to finally hearing it. And, well, it's hitting that sweet spot I have for utterly heartbreaking music in just the right way.

I could describe it as the sort of minimalism that you might expect out of some super-dramatic artsy film, but that'd be doing Benzinho a huge disservice. It doesn't need visuals to express itself; it delivers its own tone perfectly—a devastatingly bleak mood with just the tiniest hopeful silver lining to it. The arrangements are very simple, mostly solo piano with the occasional droning strings and chromatic percussion (I believe a good deal of the album is electronically produced).

It's one of those albums that is incredibly difficult to write about, like a book or movie people say that you have to experience it for yourself to get the real gist of it. It feels cheap to write about it this way, but I feel like that applies here. I won't say it's an album for everyone; a lot of people are probably going to find it repetitive or lacking or dull or maybe even a bit sloppy at times. I wouldn't say they'd be wrong, but I would say they're missing the point. Roses of Time I is all about its own beauty, its own simplicity, and just writing a damn good piece of music. And it does that well.

Austin Wintory – Journey

July 19, 2013 • Sony Music / Sumthing Else Music Works

I don't own a PS3 so I never played Journey, so you'll have to take this opinion from someone who just watched a video of it; but even in that experience it's still a great game. No small part of its success should be attributed to its score, easily another one of my top favorite pieces of game music ever.

One thing you'll notice right away about Journey's soundtrack is that it's not very typical for a game; it feels a lot more like that of a dramatic, artsy film (and I mean that in a good way). Many modern classical film score tropes are in full swing here: a large-scale orchestra with occasional tight string and wind ensembles; soft, meandering melodies; tense, amelodic, droning buildups.

But it's not a generic score by any means; it definitely takes on the role of "soundscape" more than "soundtrack" as it works so well to establish mood and context without even really needing a visual to go along with it. Journey is, at least in part, a game about exploration (big surprise) and discovery; this score evokes those emotions exceedingly well. It has that sense of childlike wonder to it, as the music paints these mysterious and foreign yet beautiful scenes.

It does suffer a bit from your typical score's inherent problem with getting a bit too long and as Journey is especially heady and dense, it can be a bit of a difficult attentive listen. Still, I think it's absolutely worth it; it's simply one of the most gorgeous experiences I've had with gaming in general in a long time and deserves all the attention it can get. At the very least, give these pieces a try.

Esmerine – La Lechuza

June 7, 2011 • Constellation Records

I don't have a clue how I found out about Esmerine—something to do with their association with Godspeed, I'd guess, but even ignoring that it's hard to find something bad on Constellation's roster. I'm a bit annoyed I haven't heard of this group sooner; out of every Godspeed side-project I've heard this one is by far the best, and yet they seem to be pretty unknown.

I don't really know the difference between minimalism and post-minimalism, but I'm pretty sure La Lechuza falls somewhere in there. Arrangements are sparse, focusing on a small handful of string instruments and various percussion, both chromatic and folky. It's almost like if early Godspeed was conducted by Arvo Pärt, and the result is somber, personal, introspective, bittersweet—in parts, anyway.

It's all about beauty in simplicity; just a basic chord progression on xylophone with cello and you're set. (It certainly helps that they use a lot of what I'd consider "favorite" instruments, like the two I just mentioned, so the aesthetic already really appeals to me.) Other tracks take a more layered, complex approach that works equally well, just trying to do something a bit different. One part that particularly gets to me is "Trampolin"'s optimistic, childlike style, with a more upbeat rhythm and flowing melodies. It's a fantastic mix of moods on display in this album, and it's fortunately delivered in a way that really clicks.

If I had to complain (and of course I do) I'm not a huge fan of the vocals and to me they really take away from the experience that the instruments delivered just fine; fortunately they only appear on a couple tracks so it's not a huge deal.

Anyway. Esmerine makes some damn beautiful stuff, and it's absolutely worth listening to for anyone remotely into chamber music, minimalism, and post-rock-influenced music. Or even if you aren't. It's great either way.

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Sigur Rós – Valtari

May 28, 2012 • Smekkleysa

I wasn't going to review this album at first, expecting more of a bland decline into sameness, but amittedly Valtari is a pleasant surprise. On Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust the band steered in a much poppier direction and I expected them to dully continue in the same vein. But this album is way on the other side of the spectrum with an incredibly somber ambient and classical sound, and almost no hint of their post-rock roots (save the first track). It's a pretty nice sound, and while not remotely original (as any Eluvium or Stars of the Lid fan can tell you) they do it quite well.

Sonically, Sigur Rós isn't doing anything new—you still have the same slow arrangements, lush strings and piano melodies, choirs, droning bass, warm vinyl crackle, music boxes, and the like. I think since the last couple albums the songwriting has definitely matured and, for the most part, Sigur Rós has gotten a bit better at writing tracks with these classical arrangements and they fit in neatly with the rockier bits, as usual.

Like most of their other albums, Valtari has one standout track, "Varúð", which is a typical strings-and-piano piece; what I particularly like about it is how the strings occasionally pull out these dissonant screeches and drones that sound like they're straight out of F#A#∞ (see around 2:00 in particular). Along with the tense pounding buildup, they give the track a really great atmosphere.

Not every track is as great as "Varúð" though, especially the third-quarter-ghetto tracks "Dauðalogn" and "Varðeldur" and the ambling, directionless closer "Fjögur píanó". Obviously the band often goes for a more texture-driven approach on this album but they don't always make it as interesting as it could be without resorting to their rock tendencies (as on "Ég anda" and "Varúð"). Sure, the more mellow tracks are definitely pretty, but they work better in the background.

But yeah, I'm liking it. Not as much as Ágætis byrjun or ( ) or Takk..., but it's rekindled my interest in the band. I'm wondering if Jónsi & Alex's Riceboy Sleeps wasn't merely a one-off experimentation but a portent of things to come from Sigur Rós while Jónsi makes his pop on the side. We'll see, I guess.

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