The apocalypse! What's it like? Well, I think we at least know what it may end up sounding like now thanks to this here record. Rodrigo T. Fonseca has crafted the perfect soundtrack for the few ups and many downs of the end of the world. Sometimes it's like you've been trapped in a cave, rocks and debris barring your exit; other times it's like you're forgetting everything after some hundred-thousand-years in a desert.
The Void is a Mirror is brimming with tension, it's a dirge that, to me at least, paints a picture of a sadness that grows more distant, it's various layers and details melding into a blur as you forget it. The best comparison I could make is Godspeed You! Black Emperor at their best, but that doesn't exactly describe how it sounds — rather I make the comparison because of the small feeling of hope that slowly grows within its minimalist crescendo.
Often, Frank Zappa, a man whose work I greatly admire, would splice live guitar solos into new pieces — xenochrony. Detatchment, if you told me it was a lost Zappa solo, I would believe you. The track fits that particular niche in which Watermelon In Easter Hay and various stoner-y Trance-Fusion solos live in. Anywho, it's fantastic, wonderful.
I remember the first time I listened to Verklarte Nacht some years ago, I felt a tightness in my chest — an anxiety — but at the same time I was in total awe of what I was hearing and had to continue on with it. That's what When the end it's not the end yet (unfortunately) brings back to the front of my mind each time I've listened to it.
As for the rest of the album? Find out for yourself. I'd say track six is as worthy of any Silent Hill game as any of Akira Yamaoka's soundtracks. Eight and ten bring some comfort. The rest is total desolation. There are glimmers of hope, however. I have some issues, obviously — my number one issue being that the thing is too damn short!! Honestly, I'd be willing to listen to another hour or two of this stuff, but that's just me obviously. All in all, listen to Protect Us While We Sleep..., or Instrumental & Ambient Selection Vol. 1 as it's named here and on bandcamp. One of the most wonderful ambient records I've heard since Seals' Marie last year. This album is best enjoyed either whilst doing another task or giving it your total absolute attention. So, go on, the link is right there, listen to it, it's great!