Ochre – 'Like Dust Of The Balance' review
Large swathes of Like Dust are cut from the same cloth as Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children and Air’s 10,000Hz Legend, both of them masterclasses in sinister synth and wibbly pastoral bleeps. However, where its forebears succeeded in generating a contradictory combination of eerie disquiet and bucolic calm, Like Dust falls short, sounding more like two talented electronica producers reading the instructions on how to make Warp-esque IDM – and subsequently neglecting the instinctive side of the genre.When the LP moves into film soundtrack territory, aping the likes of Yann Tiersen and Thomas Newman with lush strings and wordless choirs, a more captivating, almost passionate sound arrives, but it’s not enough to save what is a technically proficient but ultimately rather dull album.
6/10
