'Encouraged To Lose' is Durham, UK ambient sound producer David Newlyn's fourth release on the Sound In Silence label, and for some odd reason his previous efforts eluded me. (I get a lot of SIS product for review.) 'Encouraged To Lose' is a mere five tracks in 32 minutes and I can't think of a more self-defeating title for an album, except maybe if Newlyn's parents, teachers, or friends were not very supportive of his career choices, or maybe this is just an in-joke we're just not privy to. Be that as it may, this is very minimalist ambient music, using piano, synths, field recordings, tape loops, etc. mostly in barely there fashion. When I first heard this, I did not like it at all; it sounded like hardly any effort was put into it. I put it away for weeks, and have just come back to it with a fresh perspective- it works pretty well for the most part, although the fourth track, "A Strange Kind of Confusion" can be a bit overbearing with a synth sound that verges on piercing. The radio static (or whatever it's supposed to be) on "17th Out of 19" seemed superfluous and unnecessary, but juxtaposed against the calm ambient pads it gives the track a certain uniqueness. If you're looking for a different brief trip into minimal ambient, this could be it. Comes in a limited edition of 200 handmade and hand-numbered collectible copies, or the digital download.

Prepare to be marionetted through a whimsical journey of soundscapes and synths with Kirk Barley's latest creation, "Marionette," an album that's as enigmatic as it is enthralling. Released by the end of November 2023 via Odda Recordings, this opus of organic minimalism is a testament to Barley's prowess as a composer and producer.

Drawing from a melange of influences – field recordings, found sounds, instrumental improvisations, and synthetic processes – Barley masterfully crafts compositions that unfurl like intricate tapestries, revealing layers of complexity with each listen. From the gentle crackle of vinyl to the hyper-real spaces his music inhabits, "Marionette" is a sonic exploration of rural England and its Victorian charm, as hinted by the quaint garden print adorning the album cover.

Tracks like 'Seafarer' transport listeners to turbulent waters with repeated synth swells, while the title track 'Marionette' conjures eerie scenes of shadows flickering by an open fire. 'Lake of Gold' takes plucked strings on a mesmerizing journey, creating a rhythm reminiscent of raindrops cascading on a tranquil lake.

Barley's sonic palette, influenced by jazz, minimalism, and techno, showcases his meticulous attention to detail. His alter-ego, Bambooman, found acclaim on Matthew Herbert's Accidental imprint, while under the pseudonym Church Andrews, he delves into synthetic, beat-focused music. With performances at festivals like Rewire and Waking Life, and nods from luminaries like Aphex Twin, Barley's versatility knows no bounds.

"Marionette" is a limited edition gem, released on black vinyl with a risograph print by artist Oliver Pitt, ensuring a tactile and immersive experience for listeners. Whether you're a seasoned aficionado or a casual listener, Barley's "Marionette" promises to pull you into its enchanting world of sound and leave you mesmerized long after the final note fades away.

Compared to a not too distant past, the German label Frank Mark Arts and many of its stalwarts and regular collaborators, whose artistic incontinence seems to be an existential hallmark, appear to have veered towards the relative abandonment of experimentation on electric guitars and processed, sometimes mannered, dives fully into forms completely free from patterns and migrations towards territories of improvisation and electronics, which seem to be functionalized to make one abandon listening to their own mental digressions. So, it becomes very likely that, listening to some artifact of the Frank Mark brand, one might forget about the underlying structures of the citaredic interweaving of the various tracks to let one's mind embark on abstract journeys submerged by a set of aural stimulations as in an imaginary Lily pond. And one of these listens could be the one proposed in this album, the result of the munificent collaboration that has already gifted very interested moments under the aegis of Frank Mark's label, between guitarist Roman Leykam and composer Frank Meyer. As in other previous episodes, the Steinberger owned and played by Roman remains the absolute protagonist, evoking forms that constantly change with the application of effects. Shapes that hover within clouds sometimes reassuring (as in the initial "Blind Trust" and the sci-fi streaks of "A Sphere of Time and Space") sometimes alienating (as in the refluxes of "Enduring Effect" or in the progressive saturations of "Time Out of Joint") of synths, which intersect in oscillating digressions between ambient sounds that strongly evoke glorious rides of ambient predecessors like Brian Eno or Robert Fripp and elasticized forms (because they really seem stretched like an elastic band) of certain psychedelia of 80s rock, adapted to the aesthetic translations of some new laboratory polymer. Recommended for enthusiasts of the genre.

CrAwE is the work of one Adam Colman, who hails from Norwich, UK and describes his music as "Solo Improv Dark Ambient Guitar Soundscape Dronez with occasional contributions, the sound of the impending apocalypse and fridge buzz." I had previously reviewed "TogetherWeSashayThroughVariationsOfHell" and enjoyed it, so I was interested to see how this disc compared.

"IntelligenceExplosion" kicks it all off with a nice, dark composition with a simple beat and a heavy, droning guitar line. This is hypnotic and lovely. " Death " switches gears a bit with an intro of man speaking about Asimov's 3 laws of robotics before the main composition kicks in with heavy, plodding drums and a simple guitar line, which increasingly becomes more insistent and intense. In fact, "intense" would be the best descriptor for this album. For example, "ReturnToTheDesert" features heavy, plodding drone and drums and "DroneSwarm" brings us the sounds of pounding on metal dissolving into droning guitar. For me, the best tracks were "Kargu-2," which opens with an intro about machines taking over before diving into a minor tone multilayered composition with a heavy beat and "CapitalismInvestsInDeathNotLife" which would be right at home on an old school Projekt Records release (think Lycia or Black Tape for a Blue Girl).

Overall, this album is really solid, and the closest comparison I can come up with is Lycia. If you like droning, apocalyptic music, Cr(A)wE has got you covered. If there is a criticism to be had here is that the compositions are similar in feel, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Unlike most Inner Demons discs, this is not a 3", but a full length album. This album weighs in at around 58 minutes. However, like most Inner Demons discs, this is limited to 42 copies, so you’ll want to get this before it is gone.

I had not heard of Ennaytch, but they hail from Tucson, Arizona and describe themselves as “an industrial noise artist . . . with a diverse catalogue, exploring a wide variety of dark and experimental genres of sound.” The label describes this disc as “Sleepy-time muzak for the mentally unwell. Conceived as 3 volumes, about 20 minutes apiece, audio soundscapes specifically geared to make comfortable, those who are uncomfortable, so you may sleep. Even the disturbed deserve rest.” Sounds promising, so let's dive in.

We kick it off with “Ashamed of My Own Presence Yet Alas I Cannot Escape,” which is a jagged sort of drone number with bits of analog weirdness buried in the mix and a whole lot of bass. True to the description, this is just off kilter enough to not work as ambient music, but not really noisy either. The glitchiness is subdued enough that one can overlook it for a short time until it emerges to make itself known.
We close it off with “Crawling Out of My Skin and Slithering Into a Hole.” This is less bass and more midrange noisy drone with a lot of high-end hiss and hum. The result gives the feel of being in a beehive, only the bees are enormous and you are an unwelcome intruder.

Overall, this does what it sets out to do, which is provide a kind of “Sleepy-time muzak for the mentally unwell.” Indeed, one could put this in a similar vein as Nurse With Wound's “Soliloquy for Lillith” in impulse, if not quite in execution. Where “Soliloquy for Lilith” is a bit smoother in feel, this is much more dissonant and abrasive. That said, you didn't pick up a disc on Inner Demons because it would help you sleep, now did you? This definitely makes me want to hear the other two segments that seem to be in the works.