IN A COLD EMBRACE

As ambient music goes, this is a haunting, beautiful, and altogether admirable quintet of pieces. Without ever becoming intense or forceful, they ebb and flow, swirl and stay. In a Cold Embrace is, however, an album of music that loses its listener throughout; it is excellent while engaging in some other experience (like writing fiction).

"Prologue : Nature morte // You're not welcome here" In a Cold Embrace begins with a disquieting rumble , like some nefarious creature of the deep waiting to emerge. Yet this beast is not so wicked, as the music settles into a smooth, chilled passage of sound. Leaving the terrain of traditional post-rock, the prologue moves through psychedelic textures. Much of it is like the quiet middle section of Yes' "Awaken."

"Comrade // The way we grieve" It's easy to get lost in the soft, graceful, yet icy scenery this second piece paints.

"Interlude : Time stands still" This is indeed an interlude, a terse piece of cinematic, synthetic tones.

"Breaking bad news // The faces we remember" In keeping with the overall mood of the album, a somber and meditative passage provides soft, clean guitars and low keyboard backing.

"The semblance of fate // Epilogue : Citizen creep // The end" Distant piano and electric guitar swirl around dominant bass notes. Like a lighted hearth on a winter evening, there is a warming sensation that emanates from the middle of this piece. In the end, it reverts back to the glacial and secluded bitterness, finishing with a tranquil piano that sounds like the graceful acceptance of dying.