Listening
Mirror is aptly named. As these soothing sounds meander about they appear to
slowly build off of one another. There is a great deal of natural sounds as
well. Drones and field recording intermingle into a large mass of sound. Eventually
it overtakes your senses if you keep your eyes closed. Guess that is what they
mean by a listening mirror: having your own thoughts reflected off of the sound
itself. Since there are no actual lyrics it is completely open to the listener’s
interpretation. Also the slow moving pieces lend themselves well to multiple
listens while going about your day.
These
are long pieces. The shortest one is over six minutes long. Listening Mirror is
more concerned with the mood than with actual melodies. Of course there are
certain movements, but they are more of themes than anything downright
hummable. I’d say the longest one “The Organist” is my favorite. The experience
of listening to this is akin to standing in a giant tunnel. All the sounds are
massive, over-amplified, and oddly soothing. I am reminded of biking through
tunnels. I used to hear this kind of sound all the time. Being reminded of it,
of the enormity of the experience, makes me very calm and happy.
‘Resting
in Aspic’ for all of its enormous sound, is a human album. The vocals make that
clear. Pieces of people running around, animals, and random shouts remind you
this is all taking place on Earth. All you need to do is listen and you’ll hear
it.
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