Back catalogue: Ambient/Drone

Review: Barnt returns for a weighty, new wavey three-tracker on Kompakt, not quite straying from his trademark minimal tech style, but nevertheless working in novel elements. 'This Is For The Decor Only' is a glistening ambient trance cut, working in detuned leads and melodic 'woahs' (woah indeed), while 'You Know What's Gone' recalls everything from mid-80s body music, new romantic dance, and medieval music. 'Fan' is the ambient closer, revealing the producer's musical talents far beyond that of mere dance music. As Barnt says, he wanted to touch on a "ceremonial, emotional, grand spirit", and he's achieved just that.

Review: With Kompakt shorthand for royalty-grade electronic music we definitely shouldn't need to sell this one. Sacramento, California duo Blank Gloss may be less familiar, though, albeit those paying attention to the label will no doubt remember their stunning 2021 debut for the imprint, 'Melt'. A showpiece for the beautiful piano and synth work of Morgan Fox and Patrick Hills' tranquil guitars, it truly stood out.

Cornered is the pair's third LP overall, and picks up where that predecessor left off, kind of. It certainly comes from around the same period, recorded in just two days of December 2020, but there's plenty of progress that you can hear on the album. While never ones to overfill things, what's here - instrumentally speaking - seems to shine like a candle surrounded by darkness. Not sparse, but precious, vulnerable, and intimate, allowing plenty of space for the melodies and movements to take hold of you.