I have to start this review by saying that, in my day-to-day, I don't listen to noise, drone, power electronics, or anything connected to the amazing world of what some people call "anti-music" (Ok I still listen to some grind noise, but that's another topic for another day). Of course, I had my /mu/ certified moments where I fell into the rabbit hole of this really interesting genre of music, spending a couple of months trying to listen to Merzbow, Athrax Morgue or even Sunn O))), but it ended up being an unfruitful experience for the most part.
So you would be impressed that I'm reviewing this album, but being honest, I got attracted to it almost immediately by the cover art (yeah, being a graphic design freak fries your brain in many ways), thinking it would be your average ambient album in the vein of Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada, but I was really wrong.
The sound ૮₍ • ᴥ • ₎ა (who also goes by pangolin, shibb and dust) uses on their album summer '26 is, to say the least, lethargic and slow, but with a feeling and personality I was not expecting. This release feels like a long and warm summer day, like the ones long lost for those who have already become of age and started the never-ending loop of modern life. It has an almost overwhelming feeling of nostalgia, but those bright days of the past also hide some dark, and mostly forgotten memories which, even if you don't want to, will emerge and taint your vision of what happened; the balance between quiet noise and sudden and pure distortion kept me listening even while I was busy, constantly wondering where this would go.
Another thing that I liked about this album is the voyeurism that it evokes. There is something so personal about this song that I can't help but feel a little bit guilty while listening. Like finding someone's private diary, it opens the gates to the inner world of the artist, showing something so private and painful, yet with a glimpse of joy that, at first glance, is difficult to find in this kind of project.
Even if I really liked this release by ૮₍ • ᴥ • ₎ა, I think that this kind of project is difficult to recommend to the average listener, but if you open your mind to it and think about it more as an artistic experience rather than just your average album, summer '26 will surprise you with its depth and ability to make you think about everything you have gone through...