Ray Sammartano: Through the Chronos Lens (self-released, 2015)

January 13, 2016 at 9:46 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Ray Sammartano: Through the Chronos Lens

Ray Sammartano’s third album takes his music beyond the space planetarium sounds of his first two, with trippier effects and more drawn out synth drones. These tracks are mostly improvised, but there’s still an enormous amount of care put into their construction, and they’re inventive and surprising. A couple tracks even have echo-immersed vocals, transforming them into dripping 23rd-century space lullabies. At some points, it’s unclear if the music is dissolving into thin air or if a new melody or rhythm is bubbling up through the ether. Sammartano’s shapeless, formless synth explorations get lost in the best way. The album’s artwork couldn’t be more CDBaby-core (there’s even babies on the front cover), but that shouldn’t stop synth-drone fans from checking this out, and some label like Aguirre should press this on snazzy limited double gatefold vinyl. Stream/purchase on Bandcamp.

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