music review: Ssih Mountain by Kenneth James Gibson

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ambient, drone, indie, Kenneth James Gibson, Meadows Heavy Recorders, minimalism, music, music review, Ssih Mountain, The Evening Falls

Sandra Leans Toward Eternity from Ssih Mountain is also on Spotify and Soundcloud.

The challenge of reviewing an ambient album like Kenneth James Gibson’s soon-to-be-released Ssih Mountain is that it isn’t music you review. It’s music you write poetry to, or paint ethereal landscapes to. It’s music you close your eyes to and let wash over you while you daydream or meditate or play out imaginary film scenes in your mind. It’s a collection of songless songs that use droning tonalities and slowly changing washes of chords to play with your emotions; sometimes uplifting, sometimes menacing, sometimes peaceful, sometimes pensive. Ssih Mountain is the countryside of dreams and the wind that blows across the distant hills of insomnia.

Probably the best-known similar works are Brian Eno’s most ambient albums. Neroli, New Space Music, and Thursday Afternoon come to mind. I don’t doubt that Kenneth is influenced by Steve Reich’s minimalist works, and Ssih Mountain also reminds me of the Incandescent Cinema album my friends in Trio Nine recorded. Ssih Mountain is one of those albums I like to play on repeat for a few hours to cleanse the musical palette and chill the heck out. It’s like sonic incense to calm the senses.

After listening to the complete album that was sent privately to me for review, I bought Kenneth’s 2016 album, The Evening Falls. It uses more recognizable melodies than Ssih Mountain, usually minimalist piano or slide-guitar melodies played over drones and washes like those found on Mountain. Imagine someone took the first couple of minutes of Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond and made an entire album with that vibe. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

From The Evening Falls.

Ssih Mountain will be released on November 4, 2022, and you’ll be able to pick it up on Bandcamp at kennethjamesgibson.bandcamp.com/music. In the meantime, you can find more news about and excerpts from Kenneth’s other works at worldofkennethjamesgibson.com and on the Meadows Heavy Recorders YouTube channel.

music review: Ape Law by Maybe Human

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ape law, indie, maybe human, metal, music, music review, planet of the apes, post rock, prog rock

Maybe Human’s soon-to-be-released album Ape Law is a hard-rockin’ tribute to the original Planet of the Apes movies. Each song contains samples of iconic lines of film dialogue which are sure to please longtime fans, and they even work artistically if you lack that context.

But don’t expect the eerie atonality of the first film’s original soundtrack. Instead, you’ll be treated to a combination of post-rock melodies and prog-metal riffs that bring to mind bands I like such as Tool, If These Trees Could Talk, Tuber, and Cambrian Explosion. Maybe Human even throws in a few electronica vibes and some industrial riffage in the vein of vintage Ministry albums. Ape Law is an ambitious combination of sounds and genres, but somehow it all works and feels cohesive thanks to the unifying theme and outstanding bass and guitar performances.

In case you haven’t seen the original films, Ape Law is based on the idea that the apes had two fundamental laws concerning social relationships. One: Ape shall never kill ape. Two: Humans shall never say no to an ape. Clearly, these are a comment on racism, fascism, slavery, and the subjugation of an “out group” by an “in group”, but this instrumental album is not in any way a political manifesto. It’s an affectionate tribute to a beloved series, and the only axe Maybe Human has to grind is an axe with six strings.

The full album will not be released to the public until November 25, 2022, but Maybe Human has made the first track available for your listening pleasure. (See the video at the top of this post.) As a reviewer, I had private access to the entire album, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You will be able to purchase the complete album on Bandcamp once it’s released, at https://maybehuman.bandcamp.com/. There will be both digital download and vinyl versions available. Maybe Human’s Bandcamp page has many other tracks you can rock right now while you wait for Ape Law, so check them out.

Now take your stinking paws off my blog, you damn dirty apes!