William Basinski - Lamentations [Temporary Residence Promo]

Released via the Temporary Residence imprint on November 13th, 2k20 is "Lamentations", the new album by LA resident William Basinski and the follow up to his latest longplayer "On Time Out Of Time" which was put out on the circuit by the same label last year. Based on his vast  archive of tape loop studies reaching back as far as 1979 Basinski is - as usual, one might be tempted to state - diving deep into the dark'ish, oftentimes sad or saddening realm of Dark Ambient music from the very first seconds of the glacial opener "For Whom The Bell Tolls" which paves the way for things to come - not only due to its track title referencing grief and mourning as do many others on this nearly hour long album. With "The Wheel Of Fortune" we're drawn closer to broken ecclesiastical harmonies, "Paradise Lost" offers indecipherable vocal morphings alongside more innate yearning and sadness whilst "Tear Vial" brings forth slightly decaying piano studies for most lonely hours. With "O, My Daughter, O, My Sorrow" Basinski explores angelic, ethereal Dark Ambient transmissions coming down from greyscale skies mixed with most disturbing - and well annoying - Field Recordings of playing / shouting kids buried deep within the mix, "Passio" caters an imaginery crossbreed of Christoph De Babalon's excursions in Isolationist Ambient with the likes of Kallabris whereas "Punch And Judy" enters a leaden twilight zone of growling, brooding low end movements alongside warped, manipulated choirs and nightmare-inducing off-kilter harmonies whilst the "Silent Spring" adds atmospheres for a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape to the overall equation. Furthermore "Transfiguration" employs a more comforting, all embracing take on the Dark Ambient genre, the 11+ minutes spanning "All These Too, I, I Love" is the unquestioned climax of the "Lamentations" amalgamating shimmery, brittle looped harmonies alongside elements of classical Opera to finally provide a silver lining of hope at the horizon, "Please. This Shit Has To Stop" seemingly makes use of crackly vinyl loops taken off the same, yet differently cut, Opera recording sample source and the aptly titled "Fin" weighs in 97 seconds of skipping / stuck needles on a record for a closing. Deep Listening Music. Nuff said.