Ambient drones with post-rock bubbles is how I’d describe the new release from Gamarduh Fungus. Best suited to painting a post-apocalyptic desert landscape, it won’t blow you away with melodies. However, if you are looking for dense soundscapes to calm the mind, this album has you covered. Dare I say meditation music for rockers?
Across the five long tracks, you’ll encounter variants on a drone theme. A single note or chord synth will be paired with ambient atmospheric field recordings. It is not a noise you can pick out but it’s like ambient room hiss – or the ocean heard through a shell. Then each track will merge a selection of post-rock guitar noises over the top. They aren’t melodic and feel more like improvised noodlings. There is never a peak or a payoff that stands out although some moments in ‘Chasing the Wind’ do feel epic. For me, the growlier and more expressive the raj drones are the better but Gamardah Fungus stay at the same energy level for the whole track. Then it moves temperament for the next track. I was looking for more evolution over the course of a track and I couldn’t find much.
The reason I liken the synth ambience to an ocean through a shell is that the thought process behind ‘Natural Storm’ is about depicting the wind and the ocean. From that perspective, the album does a brilliant job. It is the equivalent of listening to the washing machine or hoover to fall asleep because of the noise drone – but this is with guitars and harsh synths.
So whilst this release didn’t really click for me personally I can see this absolutely clicking when paired with a desolate environment in a game or video. Ambient lovers and distant guitar wail fans should find something to enjoy here and so will anyone who sleeps to harsh grumbling noises. If you do pop two points onto the score, if you don’t – take two off.
Recommended track: Chasing the Wind
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Gamarduh Fungus - Natural Storm
