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ETHER DOME :sparse clouds of melodic ambience: Richard Bone's musical history includes dalliances in electropop, mamba, vintage jazz, Bossa Nova, and more. With Ether Dome, he delves into cosmic ambience, though it is an ambience laced with a minimal, melodic foundation. The eleven tracks profess to "reflect moods that occur as consciousness slips away." I find myself drawn to the more almost experimental tracks, as well as the tracks that communicate a delicate, fragile beauty. From the former: the primal aural ascension of "The Letheon Men," a synth in observance, peering into a frozen, (Island Of Dr.) Moreauesque abyss, crystals resonating in response to the moody synth; and "Plateau To Level 30," odd sounds flitting through the background, as the synths raise the listener to the plateau in question, an undercurrent of breathing present throughout. From the latter: "Unawakened" with its sad, frail piano line, synth slivers gently sliding into the smooth ivory crevices; and "Calenture," despondent synths in reticent resignation, occasional piano filling the crevices here, slipping off into realms of mental mist... The tracks are slow to build, the minimal synth/piano interplay lingering unobtrusively. Reminiscent of the calm (though sometimes lightly jostled) onset of dusk, or the disintegrating dream at dawn. |