Dardis is the ambient and experimental sound project for Northern Irish writer, editor and sound artist Colin Dardis. I had reviewed his other disc, Funerealism, and enjoyed it, so I was interested to see how this one differed. The concept behind it is interesting. The liner notes state that "I first finished the initial tracks for ACRoVC on March 15th, 2020. The following day, I started working from job as the first nationwide lockdown was introduced due to the pandemic, and the world went to Hell. The timing is odd: here I was, trying to create an album that would evoke the sense of breakdown, of things spiraling out of control, a persistent grinding of one’s mental landscape. Meantime, global circumstances were conspiring to create that experience for millions, if not billions, across the world." Sounds like an interesting ride, so let’s get into it.

We open up with "Ankle Grinder," which is a slow moving, dissonant, droning number with flute. Next up we have "Ankle Grinder (Redux)," which is a much more melodic, but darker piece. Take the original drone and pitch bend it down several levels and add some stuttering static behind it all. Nicely done. Finally, we have "A Crack in the Redux," which is more heavy drone with a healthy dose of hiss and static underlying it. The music is more intermittent than the previous tracks, however, and acts as a kind of incidental music for the soundtrack of your life (when things are not going terribly well for you).

The second disc has one track weighing in at around 22 minutes, "A Persistent Echo Heard Through the Rain." If you need a nice, dark ambient soundscape to sink into, Dardis has you covered. This is not really heavy, nor is it overly dissonant or noisy. Rather, there is a sense of uneasiness that permeates the track, while alternately drawing you in and fading into the background. This is solidly crafted and plays with the dynamics to keep it interesting. Atmosphere is the name of the game here and this track pulls it off really well.

Overall, I would put this into the realm of experimental music that leans more toward the dark ambient end of the spectrum. This is not the easy listening kind of dark ambient though. It is too jagged, too rough around the edges to simply put it on and read a good book. This demands more from the listener than that. And it is worth it. Well done. This set weighs in at around 40 minutes.