Multicast Dynamics' 2016 album Outer Envelopes was supposedly the conclusion of a four-part series, but 2017's Continental Ruins seems like nothing less than a continuation, rather than a whole new saga. While the space-themed Outer Envelopes ventured a little closer to the aquatic dub-techno Samuel van Dijk produces under his other two monikers, Mohlao and VC-118A, Continental Ruins ends up seeming more spacious and alienated. The title track features a softly thumping beat and ghostly dub chords, but most of the rest of the album seems detached from rhythm. "Unknown Place" features a slow dripping sound surrounded by cavernous swells of echo. "Magenta" is a bit more busy, with odd rustling and crackling sounds, as well as whirring spaceship noises. "Animated Being" seems to encapsulate the general isolated feeling of the album, floating in space with only the faintest glimmer of reception from any earthly transmission. "Red Part" has a glacial pulse and calm, clear textures reminiscent of the Sight Below. "Cryosphere" is slightly darker and more sinister than the majority of the album, but instead of building up to an emotionally charged climax, it seems lost in a dead drift. Concluding track "Current" is the only moment that seems relatively bright, with an airy, half-dissolved melody floating in the ether. Continental Ruins might require patience from the listener, but its sparse, eerie soundscapes are as immersive and hypnotic as anything else Samuel van Dijk has produced.
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