Oren Ambarchi — In The Pendulum's Embrace

This is Australian guitarist/soundsmith Oren Ambarchi's sixth solo album & it finds him centering all the tracks around deep bass-like closed, airless & often sombre guitar revolution's. With melodic, emotional & warming elements appearing here & there, like flowers opening on the tracks' closed shoulders.

As the album's title suggests, things move very slowly within its confines.The three tracks last around fifteen to twenty minutes apiece. On the surface they repeat similar guitar/cymbal patterns over and over again with seemingly little textural change or variation. But there is progression here, it's just at a snail's pace; subtle details are slowly added, as well as growing melodic and warm elements such as strings, acoustic guitars and Ambarchi's own emotional vocal murmurs on the dying embers of the last track. Throughout the album he manages to exercise great self-discipline and control, developing the tracks at this slow pace. After repeated listening it starts to slow with its pace and movement, taking in its growing wonder & glow.

A real 'slow burner' in the true sense of the phrase - an album for those who are willing to wait, contemplate and slowly take in the album's allusive beauty.