Belomancie

An experiment in active listening, Cameron Stallone returns with Belomancie, a series of drifting sound experiments recorded under his Sun Araw moniker. Not so much a collection of songs as it is a collection of sonic spaces; the album finds Stallone creating a series of lo-fi soundscapes for the listener to get lost in. Rather than work within a specific style throughout the entire album, Stallone creates a series of unique headspaces, making for a more eclectic offering than some of his past work. What really stands out on the album is its off-kilter, improvisatory feel. With layers of off-time beats, slapdash guitars, and messy, fuzzed-out vocals, the album demands the listener's attention, making for a more active experience as they're left to dig in and puzzle out what's happening in any given song. This is helped along by the album's minimalism, with each enigmatic track feeling intentionally sparse so as to better keep the listeners attention. It's as if Stallone figured that if he was going to make songs that were messy, they might as well be manageable messes so as not to overwhelm the listener with their inscrutability. While this means that Belomancie is somewhat less musical than other Sun Araw discs, it's just as engaging a listen as anything the project has put out, and it's an album that holds plenty of rewards for those willing to take the time to explore its odd twists and turns with an open mind.