The Lonely Bell - Age of Abandonment

 

Released: November 13

Age of Abandonment sees Scottish producer Ali Murray return as The Lonely Bell to deliver a short album of foggy ambient music that conjures up grey shores and a kind of emotional stasis of sorts. Sounds feel frozen in time, with cold and shattered reverberations making up a significant chunk of the sound palette. With these cold and almost still sounds, there are the faintest of twinkling accompaniments, as we get to hear on the very first track “The Missing Girl.” For all the deep rumblings, the fuzzy field recordings, and the soft drones, there is a light and faint piano that carries the emotional weight of the track with its effervescent melody. But even this light piece can’t break free from the stasis-like feeling that douses the atmosphere. 

The final track is something much darker than what we started with. Here we are fully immersed in thick drones which feel almost impenetrable. The soaring strings of a violin attempt to overcome it for almost the entire track but can’t break free. They remain mired in the soft wall of sound that muddies everything. This combination of sounds sets a theme which gives the impression of a muffled emotional outburst, as if something is trying to be expressed but it can’t help but be muffled by a certain kind of numbness. The kind of numbness that remains after a traumatic or otherwise emotional heavy experience.