Rhombus (Film Soundtrack) on Sonic Curiosity

This CD from 2013 features 49 minutes of evocative electronic music.

The first track combines an assortment of haunting woodwinds with a pulsating electronic oscillation that continues to echo throughout the piece. Ambient guitar tones flesh things out with their seesaw resonance.

In the next piece, the guitar pursues a plucky sound in tandem with some backwards noises to achieve a sort of melodic discord.

Track three utilizes a variety of buzzing sounds with hints of burbling fluids to evoke a moody of nocturnal omens.

The fourth tune seethes with eerie guitar tones swimming in an ethereal pool of churning ominous electronics. Gradually, the guitar sneaks in some twangy chords to punctuate the dark pastiche with a twinkling presence.

Track five introduces some harsh electronics to the gaseous fog of textural guitar, resulting in an edgy temperament enhanced by buzzing pulsations. The composition eventually slips into a more sedate (yet still agitated) state, becoming almost dreamy (although in a tense sort of way).

The next piece continues in this discordant manner with a selection of radio samples interspliced with growling oscillations and bursts of hoarse static. Slowly, an electronic bath seeps in to temper the harshness, generating a cloudy sense of portentous implications.

The last track sees a reprise of the first song's meshing of woodwinds and guitar tones, this time flavored with an undercurrent of flowing soft electronics.

This release offers a progression of gentle ambience leading to grinding discord, establishing a sense of dreamy sedation followed by a pinnacle of rousing agitation.

Matt Howarth
Original review here