It has been a while since we had some experimental and avant-garde music here, so this vinyl record came to our headquarters just in time for a review. Eric Angelo Bessel is not a stranger to our pages. Quite the contrary, I am familiar with his work through Lore City, a powerful ambient post-rock duo with so many excellent recordings. This time, Eric decided to release a debut solo album called Visitation, due for release on April 21 via Lore City Music. The album comes on standard black vinyl accompanied by an appropriate visual identity. You’ll find a mesmerizing photo of a volcano before the eruption on the front. The magma-textured imagery decorates the back cover alongside the tracklist and all the necessary information about the recording session. Eric Angelo Bessel thought about visual identity a lot, so the cover artwork looks good and unquestionably pairs with the sound on the vinyl.
The artist aimed for a more harmonious, melodic, mesmerizing, soothing side of ambient and drone music. You’ll immediately notice that as soon as you place a needle on a vinyl record. Visitation commences with such calm, relaxing, cathartic tones of Sunken Prism, where Eric Angelo Bessel showcases structured layers of pleasant ambiance, which perfectly match together. The same sonic formula continues with a Tap On The Shoulder, but this time this skillful artist aims for more high-pitched ambient leads, glassy accentuations, and pulsating chord progressions that continuously repeat from scratch to finish. This particular number is a logical follow-up to the Sunken Prism, and they both promise a pleasant listening experience during the remainder of the album.
Once again, Eric Angelo Bessel explores some low-end drones with Hoax. However, this number also carries several longevous, high-pitched ambient layers that flawlessly match those heavy tones. Like on the previous tracks, Eric solely relies on his exceptional composing skills, so admirers of profoundly melodic ambient music will unquestionably appreciate this composition. Secret Lake delivers even more defined arpeggiated chord progressions supported by cathartic ambiances. This track contains so many layers that you’ll get the impression like Bessel hired an entire orchestra to record this piece. It’s probably one of the most defined numbers on Visitation that will appeal even to those listeners who’re not into experimental and avant-garde music.
The artist decided to calm things down with It’s So Far Away. This composition represents a well-deserved break from complex orchestrations, and it’s a straightforward ambient number with gradually building soundscapes. It’s mind-blowing how Eric handles both sides of ambient music, so even these simplistic compositions sound detailed. Nevertheless, it’s an easy-listening, relaxing piece of sonic artistry that suits the remainder of the album. Less Red leans more towards goth-rock and post-rock melodies, harmonies, and chord progressions. The artist nailed shaping that familiar goth rock atmosphere where a singular repetitious theme hypnotizes you with all its beauty. There’s a layer of constant drones roaming beneath this melody, so Less Red has a luxurious, complex, ear-appealing ambiance you will gladly revisit anytime you need some gothy soundscapes without unecessary rhythmic support.
Eric returns to some heavy drone explorations with Heavy Invoking. These ambiances go heavily into low-end, but there are small details that define this composition. You’ll have to pay attention while listening to it because the artist implemented accentuations beneath several layers of sound. Kindly Rewind is a symbolic, spooky, eerie, psychedelic closure of a Visitation, an album with no weak spots. This number contains highly psychedelic leads supported with pulsating drones and ambiances. It’s one of the best numbers on the album, and it deserves its place as a closing track. Eric Angelo Bessel proves once again he’s a creative musician who often bends the foundations of the genre to develop a more luxurious, entertaining, pleasant side of contemporary ambient music. Visitation is not only for those profoundly into the genre but it’s also for listeners who want to expand their musical vocabulary and enrich their collection with some fine music. The album is due for release on April 21. you can pre-order it on the Lore City Music Bandcamp page.
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