Ghostly International
Ambient, 2014

Scott Hansen hires a couple of people to help him out in Awake, as he introduces more rockier elements, like the electric guitar, into his brand of ambiance music. As Tycho, he has always been a pretty concise fellow, creating tight sweeping tracks without going overboard into excess and melodrama, and here, the tracks in Awake often take on a more brooding atmosphere. Still, these tracks are still recognizably Tycho’s.

There are only eight tracks here, running up to about 40 minutes – just nice for background music or music to fall asleep to, heh. Still, these tracks have a carefully crafted structure designed to evoke certain moods. In fact, some of them sound almost pop-like, mainstream with riffs and hooks that sound like something I’ve heard on the radio before. That’s not a bad thing where I am concerned, but purist fans have better approach with caution.

Awake is, all in all, a pretty pleasant album. Nothing here really bowls me away, but I can live with that. I’m pretty sure there is a car, watch, or insurance commercial out there already using something from here!