Rating: NNN
Ambient music must be “as ignorable as it is interesting.” That’s a paradoxical statement, for sure, but there’s truth in Brian Eno’s words, which appear in the liner notes of his seminal album Ambient 1: Music For Airports. Thirty-four years later, the manifesto rings true for Heathered Pearls, whose latest album is a nine-song collage of hypnotic and experimental sounds. The Polish-born, Brooklyn-based DJ, born Jakub Alexander, makes music that’s as likely to induce sleep as a mild panic attack.
This isn’t a bad thing. The repetitious, synth-driven reverberations in Beach Shelter mimic an ocean stirring and roaring in a dangerous loop, a sonic experience that’s both arresting and lullaby-worthy. It’s when the album takes a darker turn, going from chill and ethereal to foreboding and anxious, that it strays from Eno’s cardinal rule. Those songs are neither ignorable nor interesting, and perhaps best listened to with a Xanax.
Top track: Beach Shelter
