After opening the latest package from Sound In Silence, I knew I recognized the name- bvdub, but I had to go back through my catalogue of reviews, and finally found the last contact - the 2013 review of bvdub's 'All Is Forgiven.' That's not to say bvdub hasn't been busy in the interim; San Francisco's Brock Van Wey, who is bvdub most certainly has been busy with numerous releases. I just haven't received any. While bvdub releases on many labels, this is his second for Sound In Silence Records, having sold out 'Yours Are Stories of Sadness' back in 2016.

'Four Forgetting' is four extended tracks in 79 minutes, a bit on the lengthy side for Sound In Silence, but I'm not complaining. Stylistically, there is a similarity between what I heard back in 2013 and the present release, but this one seems much more refined. "One More Morning" is full of huge, cloudy, shifting ambient pads and a light rhythm track in the middle where it reaches it denouement, then eases out gently. Very satisfying. "Two Loves and the World" begins lightly, but quickly gets heavier with a more weighty rhythm track, unintelligible ethereal voices amidst a cluster of ambient pads, subtle sequencing, and more. When the rhythm track stops dead near the middle (while the rest of the music continues) I can tell the voices are singing words, but I still can't make them out. It almost seems like this piece is going to fade out, but then it returns morphing into something almost completely different where the voices are a bit more distinguishable. It's really a beautiful piece of ambient work, certainly easier to listen to than describe.

"Three Skies Alight" begins with some wistful guitar and ethereal vocal before the low-toned rhythm kicks in. This is a more musical than strictly soundscape ambient track, gorgeous in its simplicity, exquisite in blending of ambient drone pads. The rhythm ceases just before the middle, and the components of the music can be much better identified as it continues. Similar to the previous track, there is a false fade, but it continues on after, where the voices become dominant, and you can actually make out some lyrics. It kind of carries on too long, ending similarly to how it began, but does not disappoint.

"Four Tries to Forget" sounds somewhat meandering at first with chordal improvisation that sounds as if it's searching for a theme. Eventually a pattern does emerge, but by then things head elsewhere. This is perhaps the most mystical track on the album, conjuring images of another realm in another time, and also somewhat lighter than the preceding compositions. As long as you're not expecting placid ambient music meant to dwell in the background, you should love this release. More of a lush, diverse soundscape than anything else, Van Wey has taken bvdub to a new musical level on 'Four Forgetting,' an album you definitely won't be forgetting. The usual Sound In Silence limited edition of 300, or digital, if you prefer.