Cloudz

Perhaps the least aggressive release from Matthew Bower (Skullflower, Total), Cloudz is comparable to the second disc of Bliss: warm, shimmering, and even in the rather noisy parts, there's still a gentleness to the music. Although there are abrasive squalls, and plenty of hiss and feedback, there's an almost pastoral feel throughout. Layer upon layer of sustained tones from guitars, keyboards, and who knows what else (in fact it's nearly impossible to tell what's actually making most of the sounds you hear) has been carefully sculpted, leaving few jagged edges, or even melodies for that matter; like most of Bower's oeuvre, Cloudz is primarily about drone. The opener, "Machine," sets up a plinking piano then slowly gives way to bubbling electronic blips, like a peaceful bucolic stream of ones and zeros. "Viva" sets a glitch-hop beat against layers of twitching, echoing waves of sound: like the Dead C getting remixed by Prefuse 73. "Silver Nazi Suicide" shimmers and builds with strata of chiming guitars to a transcendent climax, while the album-ending "Silver Zero" closes the set with a lengthy ambient dub deep-listening exercise, as if to give what has proceeded ample time to sink in. Cloudz is a very satisfying release overall, maybe not trailblazing, but one that's easy to return to.