Approaching the listener from a distance and bringing its message ever closer, Beneath and Before oscillates and slowly unravels its protective layer with the opener, "Emerge and Decay." What seems soft at a distance soon reveals a dark inner core, working as a wonderful overture to the album that lay beyond. By utilizing the aural field distances, Harlow is able to manipulate the temperature of each composition, so to speak, which can be used to evoke many different reactions in the listener and affect their perceived safety level. In addition to this subtle spatial panning, switching from more familiar ambient tones to rough, abrasive noise elements adds disquiet and this unease helps to further build on Beneath and Before's grim, apocalyptic overview. More cinematic in arrangement than his other projects, Stars Without Light uses this approach well and gives more room for Harlow to combine the different elements of his career, experiment with the new tones, and build a very bold, engaging, and evocative story without words. The combination of droning layers with the urgency of quick oscillations and noisy paroxysms work like a tale constructed with both prose and poetry, giving the listener/reader all the tools to make the most of the composition before them. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrifying, Beneath and Before is at all times captivating.

 

Although this is the first album by Stars Without Light, there has been an entire career behind it, and Beneath and Before shows how well Harlow MacFarlane knows his craft. Like watching humanity's downfall from a spacecraft, while also looking into the void beyond, the album draws the listener in and keeps them there, making them look at things that may not be very comfortable and forcing them to address their own inner workings. Beneath and Before is an engaging soundscape that will remain powerful and capture many new fans for years to come.