Jaki Herzlich - Playful Tinkerings of Wondrous Noises

Released: September 25

In a rather aptly titled release. Synth experimenter Jaki Herzlich brings us an album filled with highly abstract and free-form compositions that vary wildly in content. Low grumbling drones morph quickly into high pitched warblings with a circular feel and moments of short silence are perforated by chippy bloops and blips without warning. The sheer variance in sound makes this album a bit difficult to sum up succinctly, except to say that Herzlich makes just a bit of everything and eschews any sense of structure in favor of a style that explores the depths of what can be done. 

The album opens up with "Arachne," a pounding that grows in intensity as it progresses, slowly joined by all manner of squeaks and chirps as it slowly fades into the next track "Forgotten Dreams." But these first two tracks give only a shallow example of the depth of the album. Moving to "Arctic," we get a screaming loud bit of noise reminiscent of a high wind in the desolate tundra. This screaming noise subsides and Herzlich seamlessly brings us into the next track, "They're Still Here" with "Breakthrough" acting as a short interlude between the two very different tracks. This is really the strength of the album - its ability to transition so smoothly between wildly differing tracks in such a natural feeling way.