Jasima - Hold and Release

 

Released: June 10 

There is something strangely sweet about this album from Pensacola-based artist Jasima. There's a particularly heartfelt tone present throughout its runtime that conjures emotional memories of past love and loss. The deep pads and their accompanying bleeps and bloops create a tranquil experience alongside some low fidelity field sampling. This is encapsulated even more by Jasima's occasional use of silence to drive the emotional weight home. 

But just because this is a tranquil experience, this doesn't mean that there is not a bit of edge to some of the sounds contained within. A keen example can be found on the fifth track, "Wish." With all of the serene pads present, there is also a certain sharpness to the lead sounds as they ping and bounce around, starting soft and mellow but quickly rising to a high point that pierces through the accompanying sounds. Conversely, there is the low and slow "Delta" that brings to mind the smallest bits of darkness with deep and airy pads and more muted bleeps that seem to warped and mutate into the background noise. Then there is the closing track, "Snakes," that seems to take both of these motifs and combines them into one track that featuring both the soothing undercurrent of smoky pads with higher pitched bells and bleeps that rise and echo through the soundscape in beautiful fashion, bringing a beautiful if not slightly haunting end to the album.