Igor Bardo — My Sweet Nightmare
It's not easy to categorize this release given the variety it contains, and perhaps the safest way to do it is just to identify it as "experimental music". As vague as this term can be, I think it very much fits the sounds of "My Sweet Nightmare" which range with ease from: dark ambient, to weird synth tones, and from mean martial marches with Hitler samples, to liquid beats and electronically destroyed vocals- it really seems that Mr. Bardo is experimenting in all possible directions, just letting his mind roam free in order to find the right balance.
"My Sweet Nightmare" is a quite long album and Igor Bardo's mission doesn't always succeed of course, but there are certainly some excellent moments where all the blocks fall in the right place. I would have preferred a more narrowed sonic working though, with a more precise selection of the best bits and a more congruous approach, as it often seems that the sounds aimlessly fail to go anywhere and that their purpose is lost. I understand that this wide and free experimentation is probably part of the concept, but still I think that a bit of more order would have contributed to the success of this album.
In conclusion it's clear that "My Sweet Nightmare" is the work of somebody who tweaks a lot with his compositions and knows how to do it. While some tracks are weaker than others, all of them are at least interesting and well designed. Recommended to fans of electronic and experimental music in the broader sense of the terms. I'm sure that everybody will find something to like in this record.