Duo Loess was founded by Clay Emerson and Ian Pullman and released two albums that are now mostly recognized by its unique sound. Almost 11 years have passed since then and the project faced the necessity to perform upgrades and make corrections to their technique in order to not let their audience down. The main result of these experiments is their new album Pocosin that they released on the same label n5MD.
The release starts with an intro track Petrel, full of ritual hypnotic rhythms, gently preparing us for the main part of the adventure. Right after it ends, the tunes of Loess carry us to an unknown twilight forest.
The forest is a dangerous place if you don’t have the right equipment and you are not prepared for it. An original use of the flute in Alosa should certainly be noted, as it makes the track akin to Petrel in terms of the atmosphere, giving more vitality to the entire release. While I was listening to the track named Fens my imagination depicted a swamp, which, as I can tell from the name of the album, is what the music is telling us about.
The introductory sounds of Wrikken made me return to the forest where I got a feeling of dissolving and infinity. This track might very well be the core of the release that forms this entire travel. It must be said that Loess are masters of combining ambient with old-school IDM rhythms, aiming to eliminate monotony in every single tune.
While describing the mood of Pocosin one cannot fail to say that it is quite gloomy and has a rather hyperrealistic effect on the mind of the audience, which can be observed especially well in the tunes 17P13.2 and Bowhead. This cocktail is very strong and one must execute caution while drinking it, most likely making pauses in between sips to better understand its taste and savor. In any case Pocosin has managed to overcome its older cousins, the other albums Loess and Wind and Water. This release is obviously more progressive and diverse in its nature.
The reasons of such a long break between releases is left for an interpretation but one thing we know for sure: the duo doesn’t digress from the path of development of their sound, depicting far and unknown places that went through a prism of melancholy and nostalgia: everything that was already showing in the previous works of the project.
Listen
Loess official video for bonus track Jolie
n5MD
Author: Ilya Kudrin
