OWL-033 (27 October 2008)
Have you ever stood outside on a clear cold night and suddenly noticed that the sky is in fact FULL of stars? Have you ever wondered if they are not, in fact, stars, but other worlds inhabited by celestial beings of infinite wisdom and grace who have plans for the future of humankind? Have you ever wondered if that would make the subject of a great film? Well Nymh: Realms of Detachment is the soundtrack to that film.
Constructed primarily from the sounds of a processed piano, this album swells and fades in a most pleasantly organic fashion. Think Stars of the Lid on piano and you might be close. With vast plateaus of reverb and subtle but effective use of distortion, Nymh conjures up a thick atmosphere that you can almost taste at times. Tracks such as "Walls of Sound" and "Watching Pillars Dissolve" prove to be prime examples of such auditory pleasures.
Be warned, this is an ambient album and it is necessary to approach it as such. It is not jam packed full of catchy hooks or memorable licks, and unlike Ben's previous releases, features less obvious use of melody. However, this is a very respectable album and would hold up well when compared to releases from the established names of the genre such as Eluvium or Stars of the Lid.
Listening to the most recent music that Ben is producing, it is clear that Nymh: Realms of Detachment is just a single step in his musical journey and development as a creative artist. However it is a stunning album in itself, so do yourself a favour: download it, put it on your portable tape player (or whatever) and treat yourself to a long walk.