(fax) 2350 4 - initial impressions

[Trevor Cordes]

I got my FAX batch the other day: 2350 4, Black Dust, Air 5.

I've been listening to those 3 almost exclusively for a few days (in DTS, 
where available).  I gave it a few days before posting because at first I 
was disappointed with all of them!

2350 4:

On the very first listen, track 1 jumped out at me immediately with some 
brilliant moments like around 3:00.  I heard those sweeps -- beautiful -- 
then glanced at the tracklist: "Hear The Sun", how completely appropriate.  
It just perfectly fit the sound.

After the ablum was done, my first impression was like someone already 
said: drifting ambient, nothing special.  There were great bits on 1 and 6 
but I got bored in between.  To me, this is like 2350 1: pleasant, 
listenable, but shapeless and nowhere-going.  Perhaps I was hoping for 
more of 2350 3, not 1.

So, I gave it 10 more listens, to be fair.  I'm trying to accelerate the 
"growing on" process from 4 years down to 4 days.  :-)

I'm starting to like it more, but for me it's still all about t1 and t6.  
t6 at 5:00+ is quite moving.  The other tracks tend to just blend 
together.  There are bits on 2 and 4 that stand out, but nothing I can put 
my finger on.  I did like the reversed-sound noises in 2, a la old Inoue: 
a nice throwback.  I'm also having great difficulty separating the PK bits 
from the TI bits; I'm not sure who's contributing what, but maybe that's a 
good thing!

Bottom line: needs more time to grow.  Nice that it's fairly long and each 
track is given enough time.  I'll have to wait until I can play it in DTS 
*loud* before deciding if the DTS really adds to it or not.  I probably 
would rate this equal to or slightly above 2350 1, but nowhere near 2350 
3.  I think it's a boon to big fans of 1 and drifting ambient.  Those of 
us who want more structure and goings-on may be a tad disappointed.

PS: great track titles!