Second Childhood

Since I'm on the subject of ambient, atmospheric, cinematic-type records, thought I'd pass along another that's been pulling me in lately: Second Childhood. It's a collaboration between Hidur Gudnadottir, BJ Nilsen (he of Hazard and the brilliant Storm collab with Chris Watson), and Stilluppsteypa (try asking for those names at your local shop), came out in 2007 on the Quecksilber label (meaning you won't likely find it at Best Buy--no one said this stuff would be easy to find, let alone pronounce). At any rate it's a beautiful record--dark, moody, and low-key, though don't think 'quiet' or 'relaxing.' Tension comes in waves, riding in on electronic washes, a slow-building rhythm (it's subtle but it's there...at times), and what sound like metallic echoes bouncing between empty cement walls. It's a cavernous sound, haunting, dank, and shivering; it never pieces but does at times rumble, coming more from below than above. As cold and icey as it sounds much of the time (these guys are from Iceland, after all), it's a lovely and beautiful album, one of my favorites from last year.