loscil – lifelike – Album Review
by Killian Laher

This is the music for a game of the same name composed by Scott Morgan, following soon after his excellent Equivalents album.  This album is worthy of attention on its own merits.  If anything it’s less ambient and more melodic than its predecessor.  Tracks like Persistent and Bipolar, Pts.1 & 2 float serenely by, despite their titles.  Rotator begins moodily before transforming into an almost club-like track.

It hangs together well as a whole but that’s not to say there isn’t variety here, from the spooky Volcano to the melodic arpeggios of Sick Parrot.  On the other hand the droning keyboards of Dust Circles make a sound which is barely musical at all.  First Transformation sees the appearance of percussion for the first time, while Swipe Enforcer emerges out of pipe-like sounds to paint exquisite melancholy.

The tracks are largely concise three or four-minute pieces barring the penultimate seven-minute epic Swarm Around, making this a very digestible listen.  The music is so well put together each listen yields further results, you notice little details particularly on headphones.  If you have any interest at all in ambient or instrumental music, you need to get this into your ears.

Track List

1. Persistent 05:17
2. Bipolar 1 03:32
3. Rotator 05:00
4. Pollen 04:07
5. Volcano 04:36
6. Water Parrot 05:06
7. Bush Five 05:08
8. Bipolar 2 03:29
9. First Transformation 04:33
10. Dust Circles 05:17
11. Swipe Enforce 05:42
12. Tunnels 04:36
13. Swarm Around 07:26
14. Aquarium 04:42

Persistent