Geneva Skeen - Double Bind [Room40 Promo]

Released on November 13th, 2k20 via the ever active Australian label Room40 is "Double Bind", the second full length album created by Los Angeles-based artist Geneva Skeen for the imprint. Following up to 2018's "A Parallel Array Of Horses" the female producer caters a seven tracks and 44 minutes spanning menu influenced by, not unlike a wide array of albums released this year, what the accompanying press sheet describes as a 'cascade of heartbreak and uncertainty' which, from our point of view, most likely includes and refers to a series of events attributed to the ongoing pandemic that defined most of this years course for many among us. This said, the journey into Geneva Skeen's reflection of recent events starts with a deep low end pulse alongside brittle, icy and somewhat desolate atmospheres, probably extracted from field recorded winds over barren plains in the opener "Mirror Glimpse", goes full on sci-fi / cinematic with a hint of naturalism in the follow up "Leveled Ground, Bottomless Pit" whilst "For The Foreseeable Future" indulges in dark and gloomy, emotionally touching Ambient melancholia with a maritime twist and therefore presents a sonic treat for all those fond of producers like Kallabris and other likeminded artists. Furthermore "Urstromtal" provides a tender, scientific background drone in combination with softly plucked guitar strings and caressing piano tones for an intimate Score Noir meets Post-PostRock vibe before turning into a multi-layered array of mumbling, warped vocal tape loops circa mid-track, the dystopian title of "The World Has No Visible Order And All I Have Is The Order Of My Breath" weighs in a nightly, dreamlike take on most ethereal Deep Listening Music before the idea of "There Is A Universe Where Time Flows Backwards" comes in as well with a nightly, yet more Morricone-infused, score'esque feel slowly morphing into and merging with a droning wall of Feedback Noize whereas the closing title cut "The Double Bind" provides a comforting backdrop for all fans of somewhat brooding DarkAmbient which is interrupted and contrasted by short distorted zaps and somewhat unsettling, yet well seductive siren emulations seeping through into our (ir)reality from the twilight zone. This indeed is a deep one.