Review Summary: Low Ebb's Lament has ambitious ideas, but the execution falls a little flat.
Lost Orb is the moniker penned to Chris West’s new solo venture,
Low Ebb’s Lament, a near 18-minute journey filled with mid-tempo sludge and a few unorthodox elements that attempt to add spice to the adventure. The first couple of minutes start off very promising, as you’re introduced to the centring riff of the song with some interesting female vocal harmonies and a subtle guitar lead that sounds reminiscent of something Paradise Lost’s Greg Mackintosh would formulate. The problem is that there’s very little substance outside of the main riff and a couple of changes that occur during the track to keep you in it until the very end. The drum work just about gets by in serving the guitar’s needs, the riffs themselves are stubbornly repetitious and eventually become a bit of a burden with repeated listens, and while there are eyebrow-raising elements in this predominantly stoner rock voyage, the hike is more like trekking through barren fields than a flourishing, vegetated landscape filled with engaging things to uncover. The absence of vocals certainly doesn’t help
Low Ebb’s Lament’s case either; the addition of vocals or a more lavish canvas of riffs and instruments might have saved this lengthy track from being uncompromisingly bland. It has some solid moments – the first half of the track emits broad, atmospheric doom riffs, similar to what Chelsea Wolfe has laid down in recent years, and has enough going on to keep you alert – but by the time the acoustic guitar passage sets its sails, you’ve just about heard everything this song has to offer. If you’re into stoner rock with a difference this is worth a spin for curiosity, but its surface level writing only warrants a listen or two at most before you feel the pinch.
FORMAT//EDITIONS: DIGITAL/̶̶̶/̶̶̶C̶̶̶D̶̶̶/̶̶̶/̶̶̶C̶A̶S̶S̶E̶T̶T̶E̶
PACKAGING: N/A
SPECIAL EDITION: N/A
ALBUM STREAM//PURCHASE: https://gigantorecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-ebbs-lament
