Loren Nerell's seventh solo album has its sonic origins in something that may sound almost too familiar for some -- namely, a trip to Bali and a gathering of field recordings -- but the path forged by artists such as
Jon Hassell is not something to be dismissed just because it exists, whatever else might be read into it. If anything,
Slow Dream sounds like something that's a logical extension of the island's own loaded history of past and post-colonial present, with the beautiful percussion of a gamelan orchestra hinted at throughout the opening half-hour piece, "Mentation." As a central three-note melodic loop recurs throughout, slowly and deliberately paced, shimmering tones and textures fill in the arrangement to create a entrancing listen, perfectly meditative as much as it is actively engaging. The shift into the title track without a break introduces a distinct new element of somewhat unsettled chaos, rough burblings and the sounds of what could be distant drones in caves surrounding another core melodic element, this time sounding forlorn as opposed to a constant anchor. "A Sense of Presence" continues the album as a slight extension of the title track in ways -- less chaotic, but with a feeling of a rushing howl away on the edge of perception while a new melodic progression, slightly bubbling and murky, provides a new focus, caught somewhere in feeling between the previous two. "Persistence of Dream Imagery" concludes the album on perhaps its most serene note, shading into a last introduction of the chimes heard in the first track in the final minute, an acknowledgment before ebbing away into a final calm texture and then silence. ~ Ned Raggett