Justin K. Broadrick's prolific output keeps giving, and may it never stop! The latest release is one of Broadrick's earliest projects, Final, which started in the power electronics tradition but since its resurrection in the early '90s, it is solidly standing in the ambient realm. Final's new full-length What We Don't See continues on the same trajectory, relishing drone's minimalistic movements, savoring the potency of noise injections, and looking at the vastness of the cosmos with both wonder and solace.
"Bodyless" maps out the journey, and it immediately feels as if you are drifting through space and time. There is no destination or purpose to any of this, it is only this moment that exists. The glacial pacing enhances this feeling, as drones move around space like planetary bodies. From far away they look indifferent, even insignificant, but as these are closely examined new worlds come into view. The track's ending is an example, where the deconstructed, distant industrial beats appear like volcanic eruptions in Venus. Terrible and destructive, but at the same time magnificent.
The sceneries interchange as Broadrick unfolds the work. "Only In Dreams" changes the perspective, from the formless into something with more substance. The scenery here is not endless space, but a vast desert on Mars hit by endless storms. It is a methodology that also defines "Behind Me," swapping the desert for the Arctic, where the icy winds howl and the snow falls quietly throughout the horizon.
But, a deeper sentiment prevails through What We Don't See. This is not just a record of audio space craftsmanship, but one that evokes an existential question. At times there is something optimistic about Final's new record. The oscillations of "Inbetween You" shine a brighter light to the dark corridor of being, a sense of bliss as you move through the space. There is much wonder to be found there, and that remains the case throughout What We Don't See, but there is also a more bitter quality of the temporary nature of it all, and its potential insignificance. It still comes across as affirming, something highlighted in "Your Bit of Sky" where the smooth drones come in waves and wash over the mind. But, it is done solemnly, offering a somber tone that gives comfort. And it is exactly that insightfulness that we expect from a Broadrick project.
