I find it increasingly difficult to critique these types of releases as they are what they are. You pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into. That's necessarily a bad thing, but I find field recordings, especially those that are raw or minimally manipulated, to be a love it or hate it affair. I tend to like found sounds and nature recordings. Often when I go through a long periods of time  listening to this type of stuff, I begin to wonder: when do field recordings cease to be experimental music and begin to become a sleep aid found in new age establishments?

What I can say about Vaccabons Et Malfactours is that it is a 20 minute piece populated with the sounds of: birds, the moving waters of a stream, crickets, rainfall, wading through water, ducks, perhaps the crackling of a fire (or crunching footsteps on twigs), cars, an airplane flying overhead, in other words, a whole panoply of outdoor and nature sounds. It is all expertly captured in crystal clear clarity and edited superbly by Norgray. I will say that there is a momentary sound dip at around the 5 minute mark that was kind of oddly placed, nothing really off-putting or too disruptive to the flow, just a strange stopping point. I have to admit this was a nostalgic ride for me as it conjured up memories from a recent vacation in the woods where I was surrounded by many of the similar sounds presented on this disc.

At twenty minutes, it’s a nice relaxing jaunt, not too involved, just enough to bring a little peace to your day. Think of it as a cat nap rather than an extended slumber. Returning to my question as to whether this is a piece of experimental music or a sleep aid? I put this on last night as after a long bout of insomnia and the sounds were an enjoyable prelude to a very much needed slumber. And there’s nothing wrong with that...nothing at all.