THE WORLD'S OUT-OF-PLACE ARTEFACTS IV

To cap off Senmuths four part series 'The World's Out Of Place Artefacts', the Russian experimental project puts out the final installment as a crossbreed between a remix and best- of compilation, much like the third. While the tracks haven't been necessarily modified, they have been edited. This unfortunately, is the only remotely original thing that the release provides Senmuth's discography. Instead, 'Artefacts IV' can be considered a collection of some of Senmuth's latter ethno-ambient works, making it a nice possible first step for someone that wants to hear some of the stuff that Senmuth mastermind Valery Av is working on these days. However, as releases go, this is utterly forgettable.

In terms of the editing, the average listener will not notice any significant changes from what's been done before with these songs. Even a seasoned listener will have a tough time spying out the particular edits Valery Av has made with the compositions, which- when found- are minute at best. While the album fails completely as a 'remix' or even 'edits' release, it does make for a somewhat nice compilation. While none of the songs are especially significant, many of the tracks here are somewhat memorable from the legitimate albums they were taken from. Especially for what is mostly made up of ambient soundscapes and exotic synthesizers, it is a somewhat impressive feat, but a new listener to this man's material would likely have a similar experience with any of the Senmuth project's real studio albums.

While the music here is on par (and even occasionally above) for Senmuth, a question arises here; is this release even necessary? There are already plenty of best-of compilations to get a prospective listener started with Senmuth, so as it stands; 'Artefacts IV' is an album that- like 'Artefacts III'- only serves to boost the amount of albums put out under the Senmuth label.