Review Summary: "Undome" is a body of work by an artist that goes by the name "Maedhros". Although it may not be everyone's cup-of-tea.. You're bound to find something on this album you'll enjoy, whether it's from the relaxing acoustic/ambient music of the first half, or
Let me start this review off by saying, Many times, while reading over the song titles for this record, know exactly what to expect. Especially on "Foul Beast, Dire Warning" and on "On the Last Night". Many of the songs on this fourteen-track sea of eclectic ambience could have easily been background music for various different movie scenes/scenarios if they were structured a little bit better. But putting that aside for the moment. Let's delve into some of the features that are presented on this digital release.
First off, not one piece of music (or noise depending on which song you're listening to) sounds like another. Whether it's a combination of various different sounds/instruments, or it's just a simple piano riff repeated several times with some ambience in the background... It was definitely enough to keep my ears engaged for the entire time. The song "Precious Sky" is simply one 7-note piano-riff played repeatedly with maybe a bit of ambience in the background, that increases in volume at about 3:10. These seven piano keys, do an excellent job reflecting the title of the song, as i could imagine listening to this while on vacation, looking at a clear blue sky on the horizon of a roaring ocean. Brilliant. "Angra Mainyu" contains a ten-key piano riff that is much darker than the riff on "Precious Sky".
The track "Precious Land" is quite a beautiful piece that in my opinion, conveys an emotion that's almost hard to describe. It's a near-perfect combination of acoustic guitars, an ambient vocals. Same with "And off through the hills" Which is quite a beautiful acoustic piece, where the acoustic guitar is featured much more prominently than on "Precious Land". The care-free vocals near-perfectly complement the acoustic guitar in the song, and sounds exactly like a scene where the "main character" goes for a stroll through the hillside. Yet another song title that fits the description of the song.
A song like "On the Last Night" just makes you want to think about a time when you were camping somewhere out there, it's late at night, you have your flashlight, and you start to hear sounds of various different animals. The only thing that is perhaps missing from this song is the chirping of crickets. This piece of ambience would be complete if crickets were featured in the song.
If nature could make music, it would probably sound quite a bit like the last two songs i mentioned. Even if you're not a fan of the ambient/lo-fi genre, these songs will still probably strike a chord with you, and perhaps interest you.
"Bring Them Forth" combines both spoken-word vocals akin to post-rock, with some harsh grating noise, which gets louder and louder as the song progresses. The above characteristics i describe, may sound unappealing or be a complete turn-off for the average music listener. But for someone who is on the look-out for this type of music, this is a song i would definitely show them. I'm honestly not sure if this song is typical for noise music, but it definitely strikes me as unique (as not being a huge follower of the noise/ambient genre myself)
"Foul Beast, Dire Warning" is pretty much pure noise. But that's not necessarily a bad thing though. The atmospherical texture of the noise kind of reminds me of a windstorm, or even a severe hurricane or tropical storm.. I'm going to do a bit of speculating here, and guess that the instrument is an ocarina with heavy amounts of distortion? Could be wrong, but nevertheless.. The song is best described as avant-garde noise, that fits the title of song very well.
Now we move onto yet another piece of explosive noise called "Foul Beast, Desperate Storm" which honestly sounds like a extremely harsh windstorm, much more so than "Foul Beast, Dire Warning" or it could very well be an explosion. Either one of the above characteristics fits the description pretty well, but i'm betting on the latter... By the end of the song, Noises of breathing, burping, and shaving foam can be heard as well.
And there you go, that sums up my review on this album.. I hope you guys enjoyed it!! Quite a refreshing break from what you usually listen to (assuming that most people don't often listen to this type of music) And for sure, well worth the free download.
Best Tracks:
Precious Land
Precious Sky
On the Last Night
Bring them Forth
And off Through the Hills
