The followup to his 2024 album release, 'Tarnished Tapes,' London, UK electronic composer Mike Lazarev continues the sonic journey he explored in that previous album with 'Tarnished Tapes and Saturated Signals.' This is reflected not only in his production process, where he carefully sculpted each sound within a heavily layered texture, lo-fi aesthetic, and analogue recording, but also in the central idea behind each piece. (To Mike) "This music brings to mind the hazy memories of playing an old cassette found in the back of my car, its tape warped and distorted by the heat of that last carefree summer, floating on empty roads towards the sunrise, a ringing in the ears still present after a warehouse rave. This blend of deconstructed electronica, cinematic ambience, and modern classical composition fuses a mesmerizing combination of expansive nostalgia, reductionist pianism, and deep emotional atmosphere, evoking a sense of loss, disintegration, and the fragility of our temporal selves."

That's a rather heady, personalized description but you need to know what the artist was aiming for. This is thickly layered ambience that has its fair share of noise, but also explores unexpected regions. There are 8 tracks totaling 48 minutes on 'Tarnished Tapes and Saturated Signals.' A good amount of them are somewhat heavy and oppressive atmospherically, but nevertheless interesting. It is not what I'd call dark ambient, but is certainly more distinct than grey ambient. Largely comprised of drones and sustained synth pads, you never know when some sonic event might occur, like a wild arpeggio synth loop, noise in various forms, Berlin school sequencing, and other sonic delights. My favorite track on the album is "Buried Riddles Under Broken Glass," the only one with a drum/rhythm track. It's less abstract than most of the others and while repetitive in its percussion, arpeggiated sequencing and melody, it has a certain nostalgia that I still hold dear. The sparse piano and muted trumpet (or similar horn) on "Faded Glimpse of Drifting Sundays" is another track that conjures a certain sentimental feeling of days gone by. This is one of those albums that requires more than just a single listen to absorb, which is great for replay value. It also might lead you to explore Mr. Lazarev's other works, which there seem to be plenty of.