Those Who Walk Away
The Infected Mass (Constellation)
I think there's something very pure about posting the cover of an album. Sometimes it nice just to look at the cover and allow the music to wash over you, or let it do whatever it's meant to. But after listening I thought I'd include a note for those who may be interested:
The composer of the album is Matthew Patton. Patton lost a brother in a plane crash, and it's on this album that he turns his feelings and memories of grief and numbness into sound. It's a difficult listen. As well as a inevitable sense of tragedy that underpins the glacial compositions, Patton also includes black box recordings of commercial aircraft in distress, as well as field recordings of airport terminals. Rather than morbidly fascinating, Patton's compositions serve to highlight the difficulty of coming to terms with loss, and confronting the reality of death. I hesitate to write that this in-itself becomes strangely beautiful, but the truth is many operas, classical works, and 20th Century artists have explored grief through their work and come away with results that are as beguiling as they are tragic. Patton's album is unlikely to find traction amongst many, but for those willing to explore a sonic litany of sombre complexity, there's much to be discovered within the dark stretches of his work, and for those brave enough to admit it, something compelling and rewarding as well.