Fragments is a very nice loop-based, drifty ambient album. Some classical sounds appear, such as guitar and piano, and they often evoke very traditionally human themes. The release is well mixed and mastered, and concern was clearly given to each composition.
Evocative and well-crafted
Lorenzo Bracaloni’s Fragments—operating under his Fallen moniker—is an excellent listen that is evocative and well-crafted. It effectively conveys modern classical elements with some electronic properties added.
The track, “Amber Drops” is nicely-paced, resembling Eno/Lanois’ work on the Apollo soundtrack. Acoustic guitar and drifting pads give the listening experience a weightless quality. As keys are added in, we hear sparse, pointillist solos, spacey drones and other reverberant sounds. Two minutes into the track, and some Western guitar arpeggios begin. The track gets louder as a whole, stopping and starting. It paces along until the end.
Swirling pads, drops of water, and high-pitched sounds are heard as the track, “Unexpected Hurricanes” opens. There is a very nice Western-style guitar riff giving the song a walking vibe. Reverberant piano keys comprise a melody that adds a sense of drift. Next, wailing ethereal voices and sounds fade in, swirling like currents of air. The key parts continue to interact in various ways, until the rotating wailing wears thin, gradually spinning out. At the conclusion, we hear a nice tuned bell melody, which seems at the same time to sound festive and ominous.
The track, “We Were, We Are, We Will Be” begins with an odd acoustic loop which is panned hard to the left side. Sweeping pads and spacey sounds fade in, some of which may have some subtle pitch-shifted elements. An ensemble of bells with a delay effect provide a sense of the infinite. Their pattern continues on and on through the piece. Piano keys are played, in melodies that interact with the bells. Slowly a sense of strain and futility settles in as the melodies spiral like tiny gusts of air before the boundless eternal. Musical events continue to be added at a steady but intermittent interval. The track resembles Reich’s “It’s Gonna Rain,” in that elements appear to cycle at different tempos, interacting with one another with a kind of Neostoicism. Four minutes and forty seconds into the track, and a huge, bass-infused boom sounds. After the boom, sheets of white noise come in, and the song fades out.
Overall, Fragments is a very nice loop-based, drifty ambient album. Some classical sounds appear, such as guitar and piano, and they often evoke very traditionally human themes. The release is well mixed and mastered, and concern was clearly given to each composition. Highly recommended.
Fragments is available on Móatún 7. [Bandcamp]
