Progressing from the bleak, suffocating smog-scapes of 2017's Toxic City Music, Evan Caminiti's 2020 release Varispeed Hydra contemplates the destruction of natural environments through human carelessness and pollution. Far more dub-influenced than Caminiti's previous work, the album's surreal delay effects and wheezing pulsations sound like a mind-meld between Vladislav Delay and Tim Hecker. Throughout pieces like the haunting opener "Hand in Flame," lost voices and plaintive bird chirps are smothered but audible, acting as warnings of what will be lost if proper effort isn't put into conservation. "Russian Palm" is a mesmerizing rush of scattered organ melodies and chilling static, and the icy "Carnation" feels like one last gasp before fog engulfs the world. While ominous and unforgiving, there's still something strangely soothing about the album -- the dubby echoes resemble cumulus rather than mushroom clouds. Truly immersive, inventive sound design with a sobering message behind it.