I thought it was ambient. The riveting, often terrifying Returnal makes me ashamed for thinking any such thing: Daniel Lopatin is the real deal, deserving of his current elevated status, and even if he never makes another good record again, this one will endure.
It's only mid-July, Returnal still seems like a lock for record of the year in a throwback genre expanding beyond cassette-collectors and Brain Records lovers.
Both beautiful and terrible at once, Returnal is the aural equivalent of a scuba dive in the open ocean.
Lopatin dissects elements of sound and arranges them into new magickal sigils, making Returnal not just a collection of tracks but an indivisible and cohesive whole, held in place this time not by grids and zones but by atmospheres and plumes.
Perhaps the most humane action Lopatin’s performed on Returnal is to trim it, keeping things tight at a prompt forty minutes.
Returnal is a cinematic, flowing story. It will scare you, soothe you, and will cause your mind to create its own visual landscape. It will force you to listen to it as a soundtrack. It’s guaranteed to wear you out through the physicality of its sound but calm you with its gentle textures.
Returnal is as disturbing as you can think of but also a very peaceful album with many unique textures and sounds. Oneohtrix Point Never creates a bizarre atmosphere that is quite hard to get for the first time but is most satisfying and amazing.
A nice ambient album, but the main highlight are the first three songs and how they kick off the whole record.
A really interesting and exciting project from Daniel that while I find to be mostly enjoyable, there are parts I found to be kinda boring. Best tracks on the album are Stress Waves, Returnal and Pelham Island Road.
This album marks Lopatin's turning point from ambient drone to progressive experimental electronica, and it succeeds at merging the two styles into a captivating listening experience.
The first 4 tracks all in a row are pure transcendence. The Other 4 songs are good too. Nil Admirari sounds like death (in a good way) and everything else is pure electronic beauty. The return of the glitchiness in Preyouandi is pretty sick too. Plus the vocals on Returnal are totally unexpected but really sick. If I had to pick a favorite track though, it would be Stress Waves. It feels like waves of stress leave me every time I put it on. Listen this album is a good.
I'm tired of pretending I understand ambient, I don't :'c. But it just felt like I was walking into my blender's wires and it felt cool.
1 | Nil Admirari 5:05 | 76 |
2 | Describing Bodies 4:18 | 87 |
3 | Stress Waves 5:42 | 81 |
4 | Returnal 4:43 | 77 |
5 | Pelham Island Road 7:36 | 75 |
6 | Where Does Time Go 6:25 | 79 |
7 | Ouroboros 2:04 | 81 |
8 | Preyouandi 6:11 | 77 |
#6 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
#10 | / | FACT Magazine |
#13 | / | Resident Advisor |
#20 | / | Pitchfork |
#20 | / | Uncut |
#23 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#24 | / | The Quietus |
#29 | / | Prefix |
#34 | / | Cokemachineglow |
#41 | / | Stereogum |