I'm always in awe of ambient music, and specifically the confidence to make something that moves so slowly. It takes a strong will to make something with so little fear of boring the listener, but when it's successful the results can be so beautiful.
As is the case with much of MIDNIGHTDRONEWORK by 9stationdissolve, an album that as far as I can tell is a concept album based around a school. The ambience paired with titles like library rooms, 1981, echoes along the hallway, and no talking evokes a feeling of wandering through the school corridors in the dead of night. Everything feels different, lit only by the moonlight, with no bells ringing and no-one telling you to head to class.
The warbling guitars of the history room (reprised later in words disappear) sound deeply nostalgic, offering a feeling of both safety and loneliness. It's probably my favourite track here, along with the capital A Ambient title track, which pulses and sings like catching an unexpected resonant frequency from a nearby air conditioning unit. It's these quiet moments where the album really works for me.
Where I feel a little less convinced are the two louder tracks. The brief opener is rudely interrupted by the second track, half-finished thoughts, and it's quite a moment. But the big synth riffs and jittery drums are a tad too repetitive to sustain the course of its 4 minute playtime, and it's a shame because it's the first real introduction to the album. The penultimate track, no talking, is very similar, but fares a little better.
Still, to me, the high points of the album are when it exists in that quiet and lonely ambient space. Thankfully, that is the majority of the album, and so I would definitely recommend it on that basis.
