Review Summary: An interesting ambient techno journey for the patient listener.
Viscous Solid is not melodically rich. Instead it would be best described as melodically barren. The heights of the beginning - from "My Love, Wave Break" to "Mahy" - and the end - "Blue Eyed Bitter" - seemingly only serve to turn up the overall dynamic contrast of the album, as the pieces in between are all but void of action and excitement.
Listening to Viscous Solid draws and imaginary of a space voyage. The beginning and the end are waypoints, where the listener explores fantastical exoplanets from the relative distance of an orbiting space ship. What's between is the space itself - void of anything tangible, save for a wandering meteoroid or two. What your spaceship's sensory system does pick up is cosmic radiation and gravity waves, and that cosmic music lulls you into a state of trance.
Viscous Solid is an engaging story. Despite lacking in melodies, it manages to evoke the exact right kinds of emotions in the listener. The figurative sheer distance of the musically empty space is surprising in and of itself. The incorporation of guitar recording gives the album's overall tone palette a slightly warmer counterpoint.
