Built upon his trademark oblique washes of collapsing noise, Lamentations is undoubtedly a momento mori. Contemplative and unstable, the record is a 12-track paean to the benevolent act of taking domestic solace in retreating.
Crafted from his personal tape-loop archive, and punctuated by lugubrious rumbles and operatic shocks, Lamentations furthers Basinski's reputation as an empathetic conduit of tragedy, mirroring societal tribulation as a necessary act of communal release.
As ever, the passage of time is the process. Grief too becomes more central to this work, particularly in its use of emotive female vocal samples.
Lamentations wanders cautiously between dark and hovering gloom, tender reflection, and moments of wistful nostalgia that almost feel gleeful. It's one of the more accessible of Basinski's offerings, and continues building on the delicate language of subtext and observation that makes his work so important.
This is a meditation both on sadness and the way we conjure it through music.