Panoptique Electrical - Five Pianos [Sound In Silence 077]

Released via long-standing Greek Ambient and (Post)PostRock staple Sound In Silence on September 28th, 2k20 is the latest, and third, album created by Jason Sweeney for the label under his musical guise that is Panoptique Electrical. Covering a total of roughly 38 minutes playtime over course of five compositions we see Sweeney a.k.a. Panoptique Electrical cater a collection of pieces written for theater and installation works, all focusing on the sound the (prepared) piano. Opening with the tender, stripped down and dreamlike "Spiral Song" one gets lost easily in the dynamic ebb and flow of one single repetetive piano motif and its ever changing dynamics accompanied by what seems to be a reprocessed swell of the ocean and other, more mechanical sounding background electronics whilst "It Rains Tonite" brings on more subdued, single minor tones alongside steady AM-radio static and crackles. Looking for "The Lighthouse" Sweeney manages to infuse somewhat of a bluesy, late night Desert (Post)PostRock vibe into his work and therefore creates a touching large scale cinematic, noir'esque atmosphere in what turns out to be our favorite cut on the album, "Doors Leading Where" provides a solemn take on autumnal late night melancholia and the final "Night Dance" puts us to sleep like a blanket and a lullaby crafted from a fabric of deeply felt innate sadness, probably driven by the acknowledgement of the finite nature of human existence, especially present after one enters a certain age.