To me, the phrase 'headphone music' is often used in a somewhat elitist way: a case of 'I listen to music closer than you do'.  Sometimes, however, a record really benefits from headphone listening, and Consectration of the Whipstain is definitely one of those records.  At times, it almost seems as if entirely different tracks are playing in either channel, such is the depth of the stereo field.  If you are only to scrape the surface of this album, a close listen is necessary.

The pieces are all formed from similar elements: atonal drones and tape hiss rumble along, with all manner of other elements - musical and non-musical - shifting in and out of audibility.  Thankfully, Maher is a skilled producer, and there is enough variety to justify its 60+ minute run time.  Opener 'Waking Extirpiration' is the most dynamic piece here, with countless unidentifiable sounds thrown around left, right and centre.  'Color Absolution' plays out in a more static manner for the first two thirds of its course, before shards of metallic debris appear, bringing the piece closer to noise than drone.  No One (Elapsed) claims a considerable number of its sounds from obvious musical sources, orchestral snippets appearing from the mire at various points, the most similar number here to the previous album 'Plays Wagner'.  Closing the set is 'I Work for the Whip', the most oppressive sounding track present, based upon a dark, doom-laden drone, around which slowly evolving textures and sounds writhe.

Conescration of the Whipstain is a marvellous return from Maher, an album that requires close, attentive listening to understand all that is going on.  The soundscapes painted in these pieces are bustling and alive, often intruguing, and quite frankly terrifying.