Whatever The Weather :: Whatever The Weather II (Ghostly International)

Ditching the percussive side in favor of more timbres and textures, Whatever The Weather II depicts some wonderful spacious soundscapes.

Loraine James tones things down a bit

Back in 2022, I wasn’t really checking out much new music; I was mostly listening to older stuff, and not really caring about the sprouting talents of the new decade. I had, however, checked out Whatever the Weather, and I don’t recall why, truth be told. I didn’t even know who it was behind this name, I just checked out the album because I felt like it, and it was a much welcomed surprise. It was an ambient record that had left a good impression on me, which I can’t say very often for newer ambient music, but I thought it was rather charming and fun. Now three years after, there’s finally a follow up under this Loraine James pseudonym.

Loraine James has certainly been active in this time frame, releasing music under her own name, but I wasn’t particularly interested in that. Even her latest LP, Gentle Confrontation (Hyperdub) which received lots of coverage and praise when it came out in 2023, wasn’t really up my alley, as the music she focuses on as Loraine James tends to have a bit of an “alternative” vibe I’m usually not keen on. However, Whatever the Weather II was the newer than ever album that I was fevering over, hoping to see where this project would move forward next.

On this second entry, Loraine James tones things down a bit. Whereas the first LP was rather quirky, maybe even just as a side experiment to test things with, here the music is really focused. Ditching the percussive side in favor of more timbres and textures, this LP depicts some wonderful spacious soundscapes. The album’s glitching is really soft and tender, always remaining melodic instead of spazzing all over the place (with the exception of the wonderful “11°C (Intermittent Rain),” which showcases some dizzying work) and thus helps the album establish the wonderful warm atmosphere it’s striving for. There’s also so many great little twists and details thrown in, constantly keeping the music not just fresh, but also engaging, because a lot of these tiny variations add a lot to the tracks—and, as most of them don’t really have strong song structures to them, you’d want to really try and pick up on all the minute touches.

“Turquoise Hexagon Sun” vibes ::

Highlights abound on the entire album, and rarely does it feel like it gets uninteresting. Many tracks in the first half stand out to me due to what they reminded me of. The one that immediately made my ears perk up is “20°C,” which I instantly associated with having strong “Turquoise Hexagon Sun” vibes, courtesy of Boards of Canada of course. The song’s hazy voices in the background, with random clicks and noises and phones buzzing, all laid over these super soft chords just instantly reminded me of that track, making it a nostalgic and really beautiful piece; this piece evolves further than that though, as it later shifts into a less melodic second half, making said vocals skip and stutter.

“5°C” also made me think of something, specifically it really really sounds like it draws inspiration from some ’80s Japanese new age and ambient, which I absolutely love. The watery and fairy lead melody is certainly what leads me to think that, but even the really minimalistic and sparse nature of the track, together with the static background pads, contributes to this strong old school feel. Loraine James adds her own glitchy touches to all of this of course, making the piece her own.

“18°C” sticks out because it reminds me of Markus Popp, it has this super static approach with miniscule micro noises that would seem right up his alley. One thing I love about it is how it fades out two thirds in, and then pops right back up with a new lead melody. It’s not so much the contrast of this added melody that makes me like this moment so much, rather just how well executed that fake ending is, I swear it caught me every time I wasn’t looking at the duration bar.

More highlights are found in the album’s tail, in “9°C” and “15°C” specifically. The former is a great hypnotic track, blending in thick digital noise with a constant flurry of notes that sounds like it’s almost coming from an electric organ—or maybe it actually is, who knows. “15°C” is even more impressive, maybe my very favorite out of the many, as it’s one of the warmest (though its title may not agree) and most comforting; I am 1000% positive I’ve said this more than once already, but I want to hear more basslines in ambient music, and this song delivers!

Never settles on one specific idea ::

And I also want to quickly touch on the two intermittent tracks, “23°C” and “11°C,” as they’re almost polar opposites—they are intermittent sunshine and intermittent rain, after all. “23°C” is a stuttering chime-like melody that briefly brightens up the first half of the record, while “11°C” never settles on one specific idea, as new noises are constantly unfurling. In their brevity, both of these tracks leave an impression, as they’re pretty unique in this tracklist, which I’ll admit can get familiar sometimes.

But that just about does it—outdoes it in this case, as the album’s great. Even if the first Whatever the Weather may have had more charm to it, the more focused approach of this LP is the one I dig more, and is my favorite Loraine James release so far. Beautiful timbres, nice layered textures, cohesive, consistent, it’s a winner really. Definitely one of the better ambient records that came out and will come out in 2025, and I hope to see more from this project eventually, as this second release warmed up in thinking it was not a one-off.

Cover Photo: Collin Hughes
Design: Justin Hunt Sloane
Mastering: Josh Eustis

Whatever The Weather II is available on Ghostly International. [Bandcamp | Site]