Review : Oren Ambarchi - Lost Like A Star

Oren Ambarchi, an experimental guitarist from Australia, has been around for a while, and interest has slowly been growing... He collaborated with Tim Hecker on a track for Hecker's Mirages album and with Sunn O))) on their Black One album; and then was able to release his own album on Sunn O)))'s Southern Lord label (Triste). Since then he has been loosely associated with the doom drone scene, though his solo works have very little to do with doom (if anything at all). I suppose the association has been furthered by Ambarchi's involvement in the Burial Chamber Trio-- a doom drone trio formed by Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Khanate, etc...), Ambarchi, and Attila Csihar (Mayhem). Really everything Oren Ambarchi has been a part of sounds quite good, but here I'll focus on his solo work-- Lost Like A Star in particular.

Oren Ambarchi - Lost Like A Star
"Lost Like A Star" was recently released by Bo'Weavil Recordings as a limited edition (650 hand-numbered pieces) vinyl-only album. Each side of this excellent 180 gram slab of vinyl is comprised of one long track. Bo'Weavil, Touch, and a few other mail order websites still have this in stock, so get it while you can....

Side A contains the title track. A lurid, careening drone issues forth, comprised of solid guitar tones, bowed accents, and cymbal rushes... sounding very much like a star tilted on its axis, revolving through space. Near dissonances mount and fall back into place as the drone gains a life of its own. This track was recorded live for ABC, an Australian television station.

Lost Like A Star (mp3 sample)

Side B, The Final Option, starts out with typical Ambarchi sounds-- disembodied, detached, seemingly random or free-form pure guitar tones. These gradually take shape as a motor drone takes over and swallows EVERYTHING (seriously, this is like a black hole more than a star now...), even as something close to melody emerges around the edges. The track fades out till overtones are all that remain. Yes, an actual motor was used in this recording.

The Final Option (mp3 sample)

The two pieces that make up this album have typical Ambarchi elements-- namely the loose, pure guitar tones that gradually come together into a mesmerizing and organic quasi-melody-- but they are somehow instantly more powerful than anything I've heard by him before (especially the title track). There is a coherence and sense of overall direction to these drones, and yet this coherence and direction (perhaps a weaving elliptical path...) only help add to the dizzying and overwhelming power of the album to immerse the listener. These really are pieces to get lost in, and they stand out to me as very special landmarks in Oren Ambarchi's expanding oeuvre.

I've tried to find a digital version (CD or mp3) but have not succeeded so far. That's ok though-- the vinyl sounds AMAZING.