The emotional through-line hits more directly, particularly because the songs are more thoughtfully composed than any of Mountains’ previous.
Centralia is primarily concerned with beauty and contact, creating hypnotic melodies that resonate with meaning as their looped paths uncoil.
While the sounds are a little different, that feeling that music creates images is what makes Centralia another characteristically "Mountains" album – and another good one, at that.
Centralia is an achingly beautiful album, as one would gladly expect from Mountains by now.
Take the time to listen properly and you’ll realise it’s beautifully crafted, as initial melodies gradually evolve, layering synth upon synth upon strings, until it flowers into a precise whole.
While it's sometimes guilty of letting the electronic component of its electro-acoustic confluence run amok, overpowering the more subtle elements of the music, it remains a worthwhile listen for any fan of the ambient canon
Centralia finds Mountains in their finest form yet, indicating a new level of comfort in the space they’ve been carefully carving out over the past decade.
It is an album interested in how the limitations of instruments, when combined right, can achieve the limitlessness of well-constructed sound.
Repetitive and sleepy, Centralia is a strong ambient record that never quite transcends the confines of its genre, but does capitalize on it's own strengths. Great album to chill or rest to, and rewarding for repeat listeners. Can be a bit too blase for it's own good, but otherwise, it's a great release.
#41 | / | Consequence of Sound |