Established, prolific sound artists Phillip Wilkerson and Chris Russell come together from different sides of ambient electronic music; whereas Wilkerson favors lighter passages, Russell favors the dark and abstract—yet these styles blend seamlessly on 'Dark Measures,' their latest collaboration on Spotted Peccary Music. This new release retains the dreamlike atmosphere of their 2014 work 'Vague Traces' while ferrying the listener to a more contemplative space. Russell describes 'Vague Traces' as “a sunset album” and 'Dark Measures' as “a nighttime adventure.”

The above paragraph is entirely label promo but serves as some background for this very recent release. The first two lengthy tracks - "Unopened Doors” (10:35) and "Evening's Embrace" (11:11) are essentially comprised of thick, dense, multi-layered drones; not very dark but sort of overcast, gray. Toward the end of "Unopened Doors” there are some foley sounds of possible light construction activity. "Myriad Visions" offers a bit more variety with echoed tones, resonant flourishes, and ringing, bellish notes. More droney atmosphere on "Deep Lane" (9:22) but "Distant Vistas" offers something a little different with majestic synth pad sweeps. There is an abstract melodicism that permeates "Unbroken Devotion" and "Faring Forward" is just a simple drone wind-down.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed here. Drone albums and drone artists are nothing new for Spotted Peccary and I was expecting some sort of thematic quality that didn't much materialize. Also, the drones were mostly heavy, leading a bit towards depression. Russell's work I'm familiar with, Wilkerson's...not so much. I was hoping for something a bit darker, and more defined. Most of 'Dark Measures' was rather nebulous, not a bad thing in and of itself, but amorphous ambient drone albums are becoming rather common these days.