LORN’s DROWN THE TRAITOR WITHIN Glows Vibrantly In The Aether

LORN | DROWN THE TRAITOR WITHIN | Wednesday Sound

Release Date: 30 June 2019

A phantom industrial soundscape looms in textural experimentation; a realm sculpted within melancholia – the dance of artificial apparitions warp an immersive narrative. A haunting, glowing in an eerie vibrancy, sculpts a world of power and distortion: an atmosphere detailed with driven beats and a glimmering electronic engulf.

American musician and composer LORN returns with his latest full-length DROWN THE TRAITOR WITHIN, a niche experimentation in a detailed, dark world of carefully layered IDM. A careful understanding of the relationship between textural dynamics, LORN weaves a hauntingly immersive electronic narrative with distorted melodic synths and driving beats; bold, painfully introspective with hints of the extraterrestrial, hints of the artificial.  

A eerie drone growls in introduction, as THE SLOW BLADE engulfs listeners in the aether; a pulse submerged in the swirling dark, the title track swoons in melancholia and weaves ghostly textures within a progressive clap. The lure of a curious siren’s song sculpts a disconcerting atmosphere, apparitions in isolation – a heavy wave of distortion rising and falling amongst the swollen beat. A haunting soundscape cradles bold, electrifying kicks as the track progresses, an embrace of ambience within a darkened aura.

INERTIA awakens a distorted crescendo, a melodic synth growing ominously in a darkwave darkroom; sci-fi undertones sprouting an extraterrestrial pulse. The vibrant melody beats consistent, driven and warped: reminiscent in style of a video game, engulfed in an anxious, energetic darkness. Compelled forward with a powerful retro tone, the soundscape grows as an industrial playground, heavy with bass and texture; searing with imagery of a bullet-storm platformer from the 80s, as players push through a pixelated alien-land with the music as an engine.

PERFEKT DARK opens with singed brass voices, notes enveloped in distorted treble speaking up, foreboding: tearing apart into the embrace of a strong percussion. Stamina stings in buoyancy as the track swirls in electronic textual dynamics, a darkness to dance to; a soulful experiment honed with a tinge of metallic tone. The track progresses into a controlled digital dance, more gentle in the technological: ghostly vocals sweep within the soundscape, processed samples in an artificial realms glows unique as the track concludes.

DROWN THE TRAITOR WITHIN exists as a realm of its own; an underworld both haunting and beautiful. With an eerily alluring atmosphere, LORN’s ability to sculpt soundscapes allows listeners to traverse a shimmering purgatory of sound, an introspective aura dancing throughout the album: embraced by playful timbres in a melancholic, yet loving phantom immersion.

Review by Jenna Dreisenstock