REVIEW: Loscil - Lake Fire

Loscil is back, and ready to release the full nine track long album Lake Fire. Loscil has been working in the electronic scene for over 20 years, and has more than 20 studio albums under his belt. This new album was highly disjointed in this creation, as it was originally scrapped only to then be picked up in the light of the most aggressive wildfires America have seen in modern history, which fits the theme perfectly as this album was left to burn, and has now risen anew out of the charred remnants of what came before.

Starting with the sounds of distant ringing bells, 'Arrhythmia’ brings a pulsating beat much like a heart, as different synths wave in and out creating a spacious and airy atmosphere. As the reverberations build through the song, the pulsating beat continues until it slowly fades and brings back those chiming bells from the introduction, to bring the track full circle. ‘Bell Flame’ is lighter than the last track, using more electronic features to bring a luminated atmosphere, and opting for repeating melodies that set the tempo rather than any sort of percussion parts to once again reiterate the airy ambience, very much sounding like the album cover art looks. 

Track three ‘Candling’ starts darker than its predecessors with a low grumbling, as if a roaring fire had been made melodious. The bassline using the same two notes repeating all the way through, as a synth melody chimes through, which sounds like it could have been improvised on the spot as it's not really sure of where it’s going. An unsettling undertone permeates through the track. as the bassline slowly fades away at the end leaving just the ringing melodies to lead. 

‘Silos’ much like track one feels spacious and empty but becomes more sinister in its last minutes, bringing deeping synths and a slight beat to bring it apart. As the next track ‘Spark’ continues with this lower gloomy tone you can hear the inspirations of the album ringing true, and can picture large catastrophic clouds with embers flying through them. 

‘Ash Clouds’ resembles its name well, as dense layers come together to create an overwhelming grey, which fortifies itself as layers add and strip away without much variation through the almost seven minute run time. Commencing with a deep repetitive bassline, ‘Flutter’ uses pulsating and ringing synths, constructing an expansive illustration of hills and mountainous areas. This once again continues for the full 6 minutes without deviation. 

‘Doux’ opens with a more string sounding arrangement, along with a profound bass beating like a heart all the way through. Meaning 'soft' in French, the sound much reflects the name as there are no harsh or loud sounds, just a constant hum the entire way through. This track much resembles an underwater feeling, perhaps representing the lake found in the name of the album which was chosen to represent the tradition of naming lakes after large fires that have happened nearby.

The last track, ‘Lake Fire’, as the album is named, brings the album to a close with an expansive intro that howls through the listener like a gust of wind. The reverberations lay on top of each other, making the sound denser as the timer runs, before coming to an almost complete halt just after the halfway mark. Then, letting the deep bassy synths rule the rest of the number, as they ring out and eventually are extinguished.  

Individually, each track is a genius instrumental piece that does a great job at conjuring up specific imagery in the mind of the listener - however as a whole, the album lacks much variation and might only be enjoyable to those that find pleasure in genres built around ambient electronic instrumentals. The album has a gripping story behind it, and is positively cinematic in the way it evokes the imagery of fire and ash, so Loscil fans are still sure to enjoy this dense abyss of an album.   

Score: 7/10

Lake Fire will be released on May 2nd 2025 via Kranky.

Words: Amy Smyth

Photos: Loscil