If you pay attention to the album and the song titles, the concept of the record becomes increasingly obvious - it's an exploration of the land of Taiwan, and the beautiful landscapes that paint the island. Of course, throughout the travel moments build in intensity and heighten throughout, although you'll mainly see this in the longer moments - the building "On the Way to the Glacial Cirque" rises and falls through the mountains and valleys before bursting out in the final moments into one of the album's most lovely portraits. The album's 11-minute epic title track contains a similar amount of serenity, albeit it's generally much more gentle throughout than the rising nature of "Glacial Cirque." While some of these moments could be mistaken for melodrama, generally they work well. This is also boosted by generally immaculate production, clean and spacious enough for you to really move around in the world they create with the music. The climactic "Remains of Ancient Trees" stands as probably the album's greatest moment, with a certain bleed between ideas and "movements" that makes for the album's most compelling moment.
Seeking the Sources of Streams is also generally boosted by great musicianship. Generally you'll find the string instruments doing most of the heavy-lifting when it comes to the album's big, building moments of emotional worth, but that is by no means meant to under-sell the role of the woodwinds, piano, and guitar; these folks also do wonders in texturing other songs, such as the gentle "Encounter at the Puddle" or the bouncy "Raining on the Tent." Another brilliant aspect of the record is the immaculate flow of the record, with every song running from one moment to the next in a rather brilliant ebb and flow to the entire record. Talk about a hiking trip. I feel like this brilliant meandering from one song from the next, along with the often wide sound of the record, gives Seeking the Sources a real ambient vibe to it that melds nicely with it's pristine production. Really, the results speak for themselves, so long as you're willing to accept the fact that the overall style the album wears is probably it's strongest asset.
While Seeking the Sources of Streams is a case of style over substance, that isn't to say there is no substance to this recording. It's a beautifully composed and performed reflection on the Taiwanese landscape that is confident throughout, brilliantly produced, and with a truly excellent flow from one moment to the next. It's the kind of music that would be great to have on in the background, and the ambient undertones of certain moments do help this as well - some moments really do inspire me to get some more organization in my life, let me tell you. While the amount of exciting new releases has been somewhat minimal to my ear so far, Seeking the Sources of Streams was a lovely listen that so far stands as the best record I've heard this year - although, that could very well change. Throw it on and just let the beauty of the music fill the room while you read, and frankly you'll get everything you need out of this incredibly atmospheric and serene album.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Seeking the Sources of Streams.
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