BASS COMMUNION (II)

"Bass Communion II" is the second full-length studio album by UK experimental music act Bass Communion. The album was released through the Hidden Art label in July 1999. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from April 1998. Bass Communion is an ambient/drone music project by Steven Wilson (solo, Porcupine Tree, No-Man...etc.), formed to experiment with ambient/drone soundscapes. Something Wilson had touched upon on several occasions with Porcupine Tree, but Bass Communion is fully dedicated to that sound.

Stylistically "Bass Communion II" more or less continues where the debut left off. Long, drawn out synth notes/chords, samples, and various sound effects which combined creates atmospheric soundscapes. The album features no vocals and no drums, or anything resembling regular rock music instrumentation (altough I do think I hear a strummed guitar chord on "Drugged III"). The whole thing comes of as a soundtrack to a melancholic movie. There´s definitely a cinematic quality to the way the music is composed.

The tracks are generally very long (from 7 to 17 minutes in length, if you disregard the short "Advert" intro track), and although there is certainly development throughout the tracks, the shift in dynmamics happen very slowly and over many minutes, which the long playing times of the tracks provide the room for. Although the tracks have a tendency to overstay their welcome, Wilson have arguably made much more interesting ambient/drone music this time around compared to the music he put on the debut album.

Songs like "16 Second Swarm" and "Drugged III" have their moments and they both remind me Sigur Rós but without the rock music elements and vocals. "Grammatic Oil" and "Dwarf Artillery" are slow pulsating songs, which like the rest of the material on the album are slow building and a bit uneventful. The latter is one of the few tracks on the album featuring anything resembing a percussive rhythm. "Wide Open Killingfeld" is a darker toned ambient track, while the closing "A Grapefruit in the World of Park" is a slow building and melancholic atmosperic track.

The album is packed in a gorgeous, organic, and warm sound production, which is perfect for this type of music. It´s an album for meditation, deep refection, or maybe just sleep therapy (the whale songs don´t work for everyone...). As mentioned it´s definitely a step up in quality from the first Bass communion album, but still a bit too long drawn and slow building to become much else than pleasant melancholic background music. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.