Widening Gyre

An ambient/down-tempo project that reminds me of the Boards of Canada but tends to a more ambient direction, and though there are rhythms, they are articulated in a subdued manner. The sounds on Les Landes are spacious, lush and layered; these guys are good at evoking various pleasing tones from their gear and expressing it well, emotionally. As an ambient project, what makes the Widening Gyre interesting is that instead of just ambient drone/wash, subtle melodies are discernible in the recording that are reminiscent of '80s synth pop tunes. Towards the end of the album this melodic-ism grows even more pronounced, evoking a strong nostalgic sense. Les Landes is a very good ambient/down-tempo album with substance in the form of melody, or rather, shadows of songs in the ambiguous pool that is ambient music.