Conor Fynes
'Nature' - Senmuth (3/10)
Here we have another one of Senmuth's primarily ethnic albums. For those who haven't heard this music before, Senmuth is a one man project that spans a great many genres, and an even greater many albums. With alot of these albums starting to sound the same to me, it becomes all the more important to keep a close eye on things, to figure out which ones are better and worse than the others. With 'Nature,' we are given an album that Senmuth has written several times before. The electro/industrial, ethnic sonic meditation route has been done quite a bit, and while some releases have really succeeded at giving a cohesive and atmospheric experience, there is absolutely nothing to 'Nature' that hasn't been done to death already.
The music here is filled to the brim with sitars and jungle ambience. There are some sections where the crushing guitar distortion comes in, but what worth the album has rests entirely on the more acoustic sections. While I have appreciated Senmuth's industrial metal work in the past, it doesn't seem to work with the more meditative mood here. There are a few pleasant sections on 'Nature,' but alot of it just amounts to listless meandering by Senmuth with a guitar.
The fact of the matter is; 'Nature' is not a painful album to listen. It is however, not enjoyable. While the music on 'Nature' seems to satisfy the goal that Senmuth set out for it (an ambient piece), there has been so much stuff that the band has released that far surpasses the generally forgettable material here. I am a fan of quite alot of Senmuth's work, but this doesn't meet the standard.