Craven Faults—Sidings

Listening to an album like this feels like fulfilling a need to be locked in a kind of stasis for its duration. With eight tracks total, three of which run over 15 minutes, you are gently cosseted in a little bubble of your own making. During that time, the music creates its own world, intimate, immersive, and completely absorbing, inviting you to lose yourself in its textures and moods.

I always feel obliged to say that this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea—and that’s often an understatement. For me, this album sits firmly in the same vein as Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and even, to some extent, Philip Glass. There’s an incredible beauty in the repetition, in the drone-like quality of the compositions. While many might dismiss this kind of music as monotonous, for me that repetition is comforting—almost like a familiar friend. People often judge it after just a few bars, but for those who relish this genre, or who are willing to fully immerse themselves, it can be a deeply rewarding and meditative experience.

This is an album that gains very little from a track-by-track breakdown. As one track ends and the next begins, you naturally transition, your mind finding the groove in which to sink; dark, quiet, safe. It’s just the music and your thoughts, or, as is often the case for me, the absence of thoughts, completely absorbed by the sound. The experience is meditative, drawing you fully into its atmosphere without distraction.

As I mentioned, I won’t go into a full track-by-track breakdown, but for me, the opening two tracks, "Ganger" and "Stoneyman", form the heart of the album, setting the stage. Both immediately establish the album’s immersive atmosphere and draw you in completely. I also really enjoyed "Drover Hole Sike", particularly its ebb-and-flow structure, which creates a sense of movement and space. My only critique of that track is a subtle distortion in the sound, which occasionally pulls me out of the experience, though it doesn’t detract significantly from the overall impact.

This album is a meditative, immersive journey that rewards listeners willing to fully surrender to its world. Long, flowing tracks create a sense of space and introspection, with repetition and subtle textures offering both comfort and depth. While it may not appeal to everyone, those drawn to ambient, drone-influenced music will find it captivating, with a few standout tracks providing memorable focal points in an otherwise seamless, contemplative experience.