Wow! It's been ages since I've heard anything from Uhushuhu, formerly of St. Petersburg, Russia, now located now in Dilijan, Armenia, for obvious reasons. Way back when Uhushuhu was one of the prominent luminaries on the marvelous Russian label, Zhelezobeton, run by Artem O. At this point in time the Uhushuhu project consists of Pavel Dombrovsky – lyrics, guitars, bass, melodica, drums, synthesizers, field recordings, samples, mixing; D. Rylov (Prorok) – spoken word, vocal processing; Dmitry N. Shilov (Neznamo) – bass , synthesizers; K. Borozda – guitar. Being out of the Uhushuhu loop for so long, I really didn't know what to expect. The artist(s) describe 'To Those Lost in the Woods' as "A tense musical and poetic journey through the night." Opening track, "How Mine Smothers in You" begins with an ominous atmosphere, and then a spoken word voice-over in Russian. Fortunately Uhushuhu provides an English translation on their Bandcamp site. It's quite poetic but also quite dark, and too lengthy to quote much of it here but the first stanza should give you a taste.

"How mine in you smolders in a northwesterly wind,
How the dead at morning no longer begin,
How puddles hold water, how milk fills a dish,
How firewood flames, how butterflies wish.
So the leaves, so the sand,
So a god grown tired of his plan.
So a stream through the trees does it go,
Filling furrows where buckwheat will grow."

While the first track is primarily atmospheric, "Soil" has a repeating bass or low guitar line with sustained synth string pad. It sounds like something out of a Twin Peaks soundtrack. Once again there is a Russian voice-over. The gloominess is palpable and pervasive. In the middle a riffing saxophone emerges. Perfect. Color me impressed. NeXT, we're headed "Down The River" with a broader musical palette on this one. Again there is a Russian recitation, but the music is more like hypnotic ambient krautrock. "Foliage" sounds like it was based on a folk tune and has a kind of Slavic melody to it. I don't know why this one has me thinking of Mortiis, but it does.

We are back in dark ambient territory on "Ryba," and yes, there is another Russian recitation. They're beginning to grow on me and sort of add a documentary cinematic touch. "After a Beetle" is industrial dark ambient with ritual acoustic percussion (some sort of hand drums) and a distant flute. I can picture sullen men in a circle with painted faces perhaps imbibing some sort of psychedelic brew. What strange ceremonial ritual is taking place? Inquiring minds want to know! Whew! After all that I'm ready to "Fall Asleep," the title of the final track on the album. Uhushuhu is back to a more melodic format on this one with a repeating guitar figure in the forefront. It's kind of bittersweet and dream-like. Nice, and the perfect way to end this extraordinary album. Another one mastered to perfection by Peter Andersson. Although it helps, I don't think you have to understand Russian to appreciate 'To Those Lost in the Woods' A surprisingly delightful work, in the darkest of of ways.

'Air Signs' is the latest album by ambient music artist Brad Deschamps of Toronto, Canada, who has a slew of previous releases going back to 2015 under the name of Anthéne. The pieces on 'Air Signs' are based on fairly minimal guitar loops with overlapping swells and melodies. Inspired by the hawk on the cover, which landed right outside the window at his workplace in a hectic area of downtown Toronto, the pieces are light and airy, reflecting the stillness of our natural surroundings in the midst of human made chaos. This is classics ambient at its best; calm, peaceful, minimal. This is absolutely what ambient music creator Brian Eno envisioned when he first set out to do ambient music; minimal, unobtrusive, background "wallpaper music." There are only six tracks on the album, and all of them under 8 minutes each, the longest being the title track at 7:30. There is a hint of wistfulness in some of the compositions such as "thorns," but there is no over-arching melancholy or sadness.

For those interested in the technical aspects, the guitar loops on the album are mostly processed with a Chase Bliss Lossy pedal as well as a Vongon Paragraphs filter both creating unusual tones, overtones and artifacts. There is also heavy use of a Maneco 16 second delay for lo-fi forward and reversed loops. The album was mastered by Peter Andersson, who you might know from Raison D'être, Stratvm Terror, Necrophorus, Atomine Elektrine, and other music projects. One aspect I particularly like on this album is the use (but not overuse) of backwards guitar, most noticeably on the fifth track, "all a blur." Whether you're looking for music for meditation, or a soundtrack to watch the world go by, "Air Signs" definitely fits the bill.

It is rare that I do a review of an album without receiving a physical copy of the release, and lord knows I receive enough email promos from promoters, publicity agents, bands and other music hustlers. Most of them aren't even in the genres Chain D.L.K. covers, but this one qualifies. The Holy Sun Opera House is not an opera company or a cult religious organization, but rather a music project consisting of classically trained soprano and drummer Krissy Barker and composer dl Salo, out of Los Angeles. Together they weave symphonic synths and operatic vocals with heavy drums. What got me was the publicist/promotor's FFO: early Dead Can Dance, Fever Ray, Klaus Nomi. Forgive my ignorance but I have no idea who Fever Ray is, so I watched a few of their videos. Interesting experimental music both sonically and visually out of Sweden with a pretty good following, but this review is not about Fever Ray so check them out on your own time. Just looking for a frame of reference here and I got one.

The album consists of nine tracks and according to info on the duo's Bandcamp site, "The self-produced album was conceptualized as a way to describe an obsessive mind with music and inspired by the recurring dreams of singer Krissy Barker. In it is a realm of shifting rooms, dilapidated houses and passages. These unsettled rooms and spaces pose a striking confrontation of fear and anxiety from deep within." Fair enough. Opening track, "Voice of Gob" sounds heavily gothic from the get-go; heavy orchestrated synth strings with Krissy's angelic voice emerging. It's slow and stately with a simple but effective melody, and they use a real choir for backing vocals. Nice! "Passage II" is sort of an experimental drone piece of cake with operatic voice icing. The singing on "Latched On" is more pop than opera at first but once the orchestration comes in it turns operatic, quite dolorous over all. The title of the next track, "Decrepit Mansion" may seem on the nose (like something off a Halloween sound effects album) but the 3 lines of lyrics sung repeatedly in rounds has nothing to do with decrepit mansions or haunted houses, but about things one does not normally notice. Rather cool in its own way. Has anyone seen or heard the "Witch in the Attic" ? I knew there was someone there, breathing heavily at night while I'm trying to sleep, invading my dreams and turning them into nightmares. The track is a percussion-less dreamscape transitionally leading into "The Attic." The orchestration here is full-on and may remind you somewhat of early Dead Can Dance, Arcana, Gitane DeMone or even Diamanda Galas. Krissy's vibrato is intense and the music is gothic as fuck.

The penultimate song on the album is "Room That Wasn't There Before, " a cool cross between pop and opera with a very memorable melody. My only complaint about it is that the rhythm track is severely buried beneath the orchestration. A remix of this one is sorely needed. With only two tracks left, the tail of the previous slides smoothly into "Passage I" (odd that it comes after "Passage II"), another kind of orchestral ambient drone piece using cathedral-like chord progressions, which I suppose echoes the "Holy Sun" part of the group's name. Finally, there is "Room with the Rain," sung throughout in the operatic mode with a dirgy pace and symphonic orchestration. Not nearly as compelling as "Room That Wasn't There Before " but atmospherically poignant nevertheless. The Holy Sun Opera House is absolutely a project worth checking out. In spite of a few minor flaws (namely, more oomph in the percussion/rhythm department) this album holds up very well, especially for fans of the non-pop-rock gothic. (In days gone by labels such as 4AD, World Serpent or Cold Meat Industry would have signed this act in a heartbeat.) The Holy Sun Opera House is likely to appeal more to European audiences than U.S. listeners but don't let that dissuade you. There aren't many operatic rock outfits out there as a Google search will attest. (Try it; you'll get only mediocre results such as The Who's 'Tommy' and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody.") With the full complement of media options available (LP, CD, cassette, digital) you have no reason not to go for it.

This album is a bit of an enigma wrapped in a riddle but a somewhat familiar one. Mana ERG is Bruno De Angelis, having released albums since 1990, both under his own name and Mana ERG. ( I can't help but think the name comes from Van Der Graaf Generator's "Man Erg" track on the 'Pawn Hears' album.) Bruno is also one half of LHAM (Leaving Hardly A Mark) with Giuseppe Verticchio, whose albums I have reviewed here previously. Both LHAM and Mana ERG are soundscape projects, but actually quite different. For one, LHAM is a bit darker with more industrial touches, not to say that Mana ERG doesn't have those moments. De Angelis definitely leaves a unique fingerprint on the music, and now I can see why LHAM is the way it is. If I had to assign a simple genre category for 'Concealed Under A Strange Tongue,' I'd call it Experimental Ambient, but this is a long way off from any kind of conventional ambient music. That the album was mastered by Chain D.L.K.'s own Marc Urselli, which is a big plus. (If you want your album to sound great, go with a Grammy Ward winner who understands what you're trying to achieve.) This is the only Mana ERG album I've heard out of the ten or so that have been released.

The album consists of 12 tracks that seem to resemble some type of fever dream. Bruno describes the album as "twelve instrumentals blending obscure rock textures with cinematic soundscapes...a final salute to the band's legacy and memory of Renaissance soprano Deborah Roberts." (Renaissance being the music genre not the progressive rock band of the same name. That would be Annie Haslam, who is still alive by the way.) The cinematic aspect of this album is partially due to Movie and TV series dialogue samples discreetly woven into the music, such as 'Apocalypse New!', 'Birdman', Blacklist', and others. The album begins with the sound of footsteps walking, a door opening or closing, then some acoustic guitar ("Responsive Pseudofingers") before moving into more rock-oriented terrain. Hey! This even sounds like the opening to a film! "Shades of Vermilion" is at first a confusing jumble of sounds and voices before it takes form as some kind of bizarre ritual or ceremonial semi-psychedelic...thing. (Think latter-day Swans.) "Alea Iacta" features the soothing voice of James Spader while surfing some strange exotica. I don't even know how to describe "Graceful Emanations" except that it sounds a little like something the French band AIR would do in their more experimental moments. While track 5, "Penumbra," will likely be remembered most for Emma Stone's quote "Who the fuck are you? You don't even have a Facebook page. You're the one who doesn't exist!" it is really much more than that. "Graves Of The Fireflies" is the ultimate fever dream piece on the album, and that mysterious, squeaky noise could be anything but firefles...maybe an oscillator?

"How Faint The Tune" WWII Foo Fighters and "How High The Moon" - an ode to distant UFOs and the past, still an enigma today. I think by now you might get the idea of what this album sounds like so I will dispense with describing the rest of the tracks on it. They are all different, but is a similar vein. This is great stuff, just as good as LHAM but in a different way, so if you enjoy that project, you will definitely enjoy this one. The album drops May 20th, and there is no Bandcamp link to it yet, so you will have to take my word, at least until then. Worthy and highly recommended.

'The Catastrophe Machine' is the latest album from San Franciscan Brock Van Wey recording under the name bvdub, whose massive discography goes way back to 2007 (and before that a DJ in the SF rave scene). There is no way I can keep up with this guy's releases, having reviewed only a few of them in the past. The last one was 'Four Forgetting' on the Sound In Silence label back in 2023, and since then there have been at least 26 releases (most, but not all self-released) and I have no idea what paths/direction bvdub's music has taken since, so this will come as a surprise to me.

'The Catastrophe Machine' is four lengthy tracks hovering pretty close to the 20 minute mark each, fairly typical for bvdub. Beginning with "Collapsed Under Your Lies" we begin in a psychedelic swirl that sounds both retro and modern at the same time. Guitar, vocals and a lot of synth work and electronic effects permeate this melancholy track. As it progresses, I'm noting a good deal of distortion, and I'm guessing this is intentional rather than accidental, but I find it somewhat disconcerting. There is an industrial quality amidst the clatter with church organ drone in the background and the piling on of sonics until it dissipates and morphs into something more minimal and innocent. In a certain sense, I'm reminded of Legendary Pink Dots at their most experimental. Somewhere underneath all the sonic excess there is a melodic theme, but you'll have to strain to hear it. "Infinite Equations" vacillates between sonic overkill and calm passages reminiscent of Pink Floyd in their quieter moments with a strong rhythm component that becomes more evident as the track progresses. To be perfectly honest, some of the sounds bvdub uses on this one are hard on the ears, especially in the percussion department, and so upfront that it defies the concept of "ambient" making it something else entirely.

"Masses In Motion" brings back submerged vocals under heavy synth pads. The melodic theme in this one is more pronounced than previous, and the rhythm (when it finally arrives) is heavier as well, combining breakbeat elements as it moves forward. So far it’s my favorite track on the album, even if it goes on a bit too long. Finally, there is the title track which highlights the contrast between semi-placid ambient synths and bodacious rhythms. Midway through, the music changes to something more tranquil, albeit briefly, a reoccurring feature of this track. I think this album is more for fans of bvdub who are familiar with Van Wey's compositional style than bringing new ears to the fold. Distortion and sonic density can be off-putting to those not particularly interested in its abrasive aspects, and although 'The Catastrophe Machine' is not rooted in the noise genre, some of its elements identify with it. If you want the physical product (CD and cassette, both limited editions) you will need to go to Dronarivm, but if the digital download will do, you can get that directly from bvdub's Bandcamp site.