You remember 2010? Yeah, me neither. Talk about your unremarkable years; I can’t remember anything worthwhile that happened, either on a personal or global level, and no, before you interject, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver only ventured into “Eh? Ehhhh” territory. “Oh, well what about the World Cup?!,” you might ask with an air of assurance. Spain unsurprisingly dominated and the world was introduced to vuvuzelas — nuff said.
What would’ve been remarkable had listeners not already been so skeptical of the theory behind it, was the release of Similes (TMT Review) from Portland, Oregon-based, typically ambient musician Eluvium a.k.a. Matthew Cooper. The album marked his first experiment with vocals under the moniker and was generally met with average reviews. Resistance to change is as much a human characteristic as bipedality.
Calming the nerves of his more anxious followers (taxonomy: Homo sapiens), Eluvium has just announced the release of Nightmare Ending, a two-disc album of mostly (entirely?) ambient material, and his first true follow-up to Similes (though one shouldn’t ignore the limited Static Nocturne). Fans of 2007’s Copia will likely find something appealing in the fact that Nightmare Ending was initially conceived as its direct follow-up, until creative frustrations put the project on hold. Later revisited, it’s the result of years of conscious and unconscious consideration. Don’t know about you, but I’d consider a purchase when it’s released on May 14.
Nightmare Ending tracklisting:
Disc 1:
01. Don’t Get Any Closer
02. Warm
03. By the Rails
04. Unknown Variation
05. Caroling
06. Sleeper
07. Envenom Mettle
Disc 2:
01. Chime
02. Rain Gently
03. Impromptu (For the Procession)
04. Covered in Writing
05. Entendre
06. Strange Arrivals
07. Happiness
• Eluvium: http://www.eluvium.net
• Temporary Residence Ltd.: http://temporaryresidence.com