New Forest – +material/medium+ C40

Horse Worship

New Forest is a project I am unfamiliar with and the packaging of this album is quite minimalist using only high contrast black/white imagery. Although the art is slightly psychedelic I didn’t really realize this detail until I started listening to the tape.

Kicking off side A is Dreamless which is a track that is rather ruined by a persistent drum machine beat. The problem with drum machine beats in noise/experimental music always seems to be that the beats are not very interesting and lack the thought and skill that many artists who specialize in that sort of thing employ. This is the case here and it tends to ruin the album as the opener which is a bummer. Luckily the rest of the album completely redeems itself as all the remaining tracks on side A draw the listener into a surreal world of intimate proportions.

The tracks are varied and contain different experimental soundscapes ranging from bubbly analog synths to field samples and delicately constructed drones. The style reminds me much of Uton or Small Cruel Party which is a huge compliment since I really enjoy both projects. Luckily side B follows suite with excellent tracks that are varied and creative throughout as well. Even later on a more tribal atmospheric drumming is added and it works much more effectively than the drum kit samples featured in Dreamless so at least it shows some kind of evolution.

In the end, +material/medium+ is an excellent album marred only by the aforementioned mediocre drum machine beats featured in the first track. Very good work containing detailed and creative soundscapes.

Composition:
Sounds:
Production Quality:
Concept:
Packaging:
Overall Rating: