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Imagine my excitement when the authors of my all-time favorite noise\/drone\/ambient album came to me with a review request for their latest release. That album I mentioned was Votivkirche<\/em> by the group, Cadlag<\/strong>. The magic they showed on that album was what they recorded in a cathedral. It just has to be heard, plain and simple. <\/p>\n They come to us now with, <\/strong>Tensor<\/em> \u2013 an album of nine tracks between 1 and 12 minutes in length. Track two was actually recorded in the same cathedral as mentioned in the first paragraph. According to their Bandcamp page, \u201cTENSOR was recorded in a diverse range of resonant environments.\u201d<\/em> For example, track 1 was recorded in a shipyard. The band also notes that other tracks recorded in: compressor station (power plant generator) coal mine shafts in Trbovlje coal mine shafts in Hrastnik coal mine Vashaus, etc\u2026<\/p>\n Some noise artists can create successful albums in and of themselves inside their studio. Tensor<\/em> proves that Cadlag<\/strong> is not only mindful of what they are creating, but also how their art can be sonically and conceptually influenced by their environment. They don\u2019t just record in these environments. They create soundtracks for exploration. So it\u2019s no surprise that, for the most part the tracks are all pretty different. Cadlag<\/strong> isn\u2019t an act that shows up in a basement with a table and a bunch of distortion peddles and calls it \u201cart\u201d.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take, for example, track 3, \u201cLegionela\u201d. I think this is a good example of when Cadlag really shines. It\u2019s their \u201cbuild ups\u201d. The track starts out with a drone that\u2019s very minimal but so unsettling while the depth is overwhelming. Then comes in the layer of noise building up and eventually overtaking the piece leaving the drone on the bottom. It makes me wonder if recording their work takes a lot out of them emotionally and mentally. <\/p>\n Sure, Cadlag<\/strong> are masters of harsh noise walls, like in the track, \u201cKompakte\u201d or in dark ambient\/drone tracks like \u201cAsbestopluma\u201d. But they are also masters of technique. It\u2019s very clear in an album like this, that Cadlag<\/strong> is mindful of the direction of these sonic layers. Perhaps it\u2019s like getting lost in an underground mine. You know you have to move but you get lost in the journey. Sometimes the harsh noise is in your face. Often the ambient planes drift left to right, front to back. <\/p>\n Tensor<\/em> should be taken seriously as should Cadlag<\/strong> themselves. It\u2019s to be absorbed and not simply \u201clistened\u201d to. It\u2019s not to be skipped through or ignored.Tensor shows that Cadlag<\/strong> does what they do best\u2026 create pure sonic f#$king magic.<\/p>\n