plastov - Moral Compost

Released: July 26

This album from experimental ambient musician plastov is based on a rather interesting concept that sees a future in which humans are all but extinct, with machines that keep them in some kind of preservative stasis. These advanced AI systems keep the last remnants of humanity in some sort of living status as they monitor them continuously. It's a rather interesting, if not lightly dystopian, concept that is effectively conveyed by the highly synthetic atmospheres combined with the faintly mechanical noises that accompany it. The tones are absolutely perfect from the start. The opening track itself reminded me instantly of the old sound of a Windows XP system starting up, setting a tone for the remainder of the album as the story unfolds. 

The naming conventions of the tracks are odd in that they resemble computer directories, like little files that contain the different elements of the story. Aside from the opening track, there is a slightly dark and mysterious undertone within every track that begins with the second track "VD://Gausian Blurb/Oi_442." This track is filled with those faintly mechanical sounds that I mentioned earlier, but there's also a strangely organic feel to some of it which feels almost like water or some other liquid being manipulated or directed. But the track also seems to have minimal pad-like tones compared to much of the rest of the album, opting for a softly repeating and unnatural feeling harmony deep in the background. We get a similar motif later in "VD://Chicken Scratch/Oi_300" but without any of the organic feeling. Instead, we get something that feels almost purely mechanical and artificial. 

Near the end of the album, one of my favorite moments shows up in the second to last track, "VD://Mirror Monument/Oi_555." There is practically no additional textures added in this track outside of the wonderfully lush pads that play out slow and soft. It all feels very reminiscent of space-faring exploration, like a long session of gliding through the universe in No Man's Sky. This vibe bleeds into the opening of the final track quite well, keeping the vibe all the way into the latter half where the additional noise textures slowly bleed in and bring the story of this bright dystopia to an end.