Like
Gossamer's 2015 debut,
Automaton,
Imperishable is a short album that took several years to create, as the artist gathered sounds from around the world. This time out, however, he largely does without rhythm, and the majority of the album consists of free-floating ambient drone pieces, continuing in the direction of
Automaton's final two tracks. While
Automaton had a distinctly collage-like feel, with snippets of field recordings clearly audible among the acoustic instruments and jazzy drums, the tracks on
Imperishable are much more thoroughly blended, making it difficult to discern the source materials. The longest piece, "II Path to Understanding," is a meditative drone that seems to blend the calming buzz of a guitar amplifier with soft organ swells, and it would've sounded right at home on a Kranky release during the '90s. The soft, floating "III Encounter" is much lighter, vaguely hinting at a Twin Peaks-type atmosphere. "V Awakening in Sleep" features a slow drum machine tick/thump that sounds like water dripping into a bucket, but its foggy drone makes it seem no more propulsive than the other tracks. "VIII Into the Endless Void" ends the album with a simple daydream melody, which teeters back and forth over faint crackling and very soft synth pads that seem to slide away from perception. It slips into the void, but softly, and somewhat pleasantly. Likewise, the album as a whole is never aggressive and verges on floating away at times, and while there's an undercurrent of sadness and disconnection, there's just as much of a sense of peace and tranquility. ~ Paul Simpson