Endless Falls

The textures of sound are pleasing but not sweet. You can imagine a journey through water or space as you listen to this fine recording. Unobtrusive yet interesting enough to actively listen to. Although there is no melodie there is an underlying motif and I can see a sensuous couple very much in love, holding one another and moving ever so slowly across a floor with 3 inch steps or floating through the water hand in hand. A nice piece of ambience, very easy to listen to, unlike the grating leaf blower noise of 'An Imaginary Country" by Hecker. Oops, forgot yes we didn't need the voice intrusion on some tracks.

Lone Star Music is absolutely awesome. Zach at Lone star got my album to me quickly and packed it wonderfully!!This is my new goto for future music purchases! Thank you Lone Star Music and thank you Zach!!

I have all of Loscil's previous albums which are blissfully relaxing.I was shocked when I was laying back and relaxing to this when I heard a dam voice!The music itself is lovely as usual but adding vocals has ruined this album for me.

It begins and ends with rain. But when the waterfalls subside, a picturesque landscape reveals itself through haze and fog. Vast fields of textural sound unfold beneath the soaring heights, with a slight pulse of bass vibrations, originating from the unexplored depths, and an echoing muffled synth line, dying in the cavernous emptiness of this landscape. With a microscopic nod to dub, Loscil weaves sonic parachutes that lift up beyond the clouds and slowly coast down to earth, only to have it curve beneath them, in an endless fall. Endless Falls is Scott Morgan's fifth full length album on Chicago's Kranky, not counting the digital freebie, Stases, released out by a net-label, One. Endless Falls also comes on the heels of Strathcona Variations digital EP, released by Ghostly International in October 2009. I was sure that the follow-up full length was going to be put out by Ghostly as well. But, alas, Morgan returns to Kranky, which has been the home for his last four albums, Triple Point (2001), Submers (2002), First Narrows (2004) and Plume (2006). Since Plume, Morgan has been busy developing his ambient soundscapes, complimenting looped drones with subliminal melodies and modulated bass. The intricately designed dense textures wrap one's unoccupied consciousness in melancholy, sadness and reflection. The mood fluctuates the listener from wakefulness to hypnotic dream states, crackling and clicking with stripped down rhythms and wet minor pads. On the last nine minute piece, "The Making Of Grief Point", Morgan features a long spoken word piece by Daniel Bejar (member of indie band, Destroyer, for which Morgan plays the drums and saxophone), delivered softly and deliberately, over a pulsing tone and walking synth notes through an unresolved chord. This is the first time Loscil brings vocals of any kind into his work. About this choice, Scott Morgan states: "The collaboration with Dan made us both incredibly nervous. Dan felt out of his element doing 'spoken word' but rose to the challenge. I felt self-conscious about changing the listening perspective from abstract, ambient music into foreground, conscious listening. The first time I heard Dan's voice recording I was terrified and was tempted to call the whole thing off. I listened to it a few more times and it completely grew on me. Now I can't imagine that piece without his performance. I love Dan's use of words, his vocal rhythms and the intimate intensity of his voice." Additional collaborators on the album include the return of Jason Zumpano on piano, Kim Koch on strings and Robert Sparks on bass recorder. Scott's four year old daughter, Sadie, is responsible for providing the cover art for the album, taken from the backseat of the family car. Check out an interview with the photographer on Loscil's Blog. Endless Falls is incredibly gorgeous, sublime and subtle yet precise. Recommended for fans of Pole and Gas, as well as Stars of the Lid, Christopher Bissonnette and Tim Hecker. "The answer to the making of grief point is picnic baskets filled with blood."

"First time approaching the rather masterful and rich sounds of Loscil (Scott Morgan) and the sound is distinctive but feels rather inaccessible as an album moreover background music for a scientific project, independent film, or a soundtrack. The message conveyed here given the artwork and the mysterious titles may imply isolation and the autumnal mysticism (that might hint at Morgan's experiences in Canada) in the face of being in the rain all day pondering questions. Thankfully, The Making at Grief Point breaks some barrier into what maybe a slightly stale record of one asking about his journey to film and associate himself with others. A constant mood is apparent and the music, without a doubt, complements it very well with the rather drone-like, Biosphere-esque pad-synthetics and very small alterations in tone, rhythm, and bass. Think of it almost as a paid homage to Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno and some of the work of Jean Michel-Jarre and nothing more. You may find yourself having more luck with a sense of variety to a higher degree and less potency to drift off with a Biosphere album like Patashnik, Cirque, and Microgravity. Don't settle for less when you can get the pioneers."BEST SONGS: Lake Orchard (fine and ordinary). The Making at Grief Point (it is a stand-alone song that makes use of ambience and confusion all at once. Almost on the same lines as Kobresia from Biosphere's album Substrata).

It would be impossible to express how captivating this album is to me.Only to say that from the cover, to the rain introducing the album, and ending it, it is a blessing that takes me on a journey I have now travelled many times.I adore this album. It is so well considered and judged so perfectly. This for me is the best Loscil album so far, and now absolutely indispensable. I was lucky enough to grab it on vinyl at the time, and it appears to be scarce in this format now, which is a shame as it lends itself to vinyl very much. I have a friend desperately trying to find a vinyl copy since I played this to him last week.The stars must have been aligned when this one was created.

Several fine compositions - particularly the title track. Fern and Robin also very good.Unfortunately, too many of the tracks are infested with the dreadful clicks Loscil typically adds to his music. Personally, I find them extremely irritating and they have deterred me from buying much of what would otherwise be his interesting work.If the annoying clicks and ticks also bother you, try Coast/Range/Arc. There he managed to refrain from using them and it is a far better album as a result.

Whether I'm relaxing in an armchair or coding at the computer, this album has been on my go-to list for a week now. It's a wonderful amalgam of soft synth loops, quiet drum notes, piano sequences, and the occasional sampling of rain. That said, I like my ambient music to be subtle. If you're looking for something loud, this may not be for you.