Psychic Space Invasion the main project of Ian Holloway, and if I understand correctly, Pendulum is already the eighth album. Mister Holloway thus has ample experience in the world of electronic music, and it shows. This album is made up purely of drones, loops and effects, but he's able to turn it into a captivating adventure quite unlike most other drone album, and also different from the other PSI material I have heard thusfar.

The album consists of six title-less tracks, all constructed in the same way. Many layers of looped drones are combined with effects. Now, where most drone and ambient isn't known for a pronounced rhythm section, that's not the case here. The loops function in such a way that they create a specific pulsating cadence that is not only created by the swelling of the drones, but also perfectly accentuated by the subtle glitches in between. Various effects provide different frequencies to the whole, and give some extra depth. Like I said, all tracks are made alike, but that doesn't necessarily mean they all sound alike; each track has its own unique character and palette. The low-frequency tones don't dominate, as is often the case in this kind of music, but form just one of the elemnts in these tracks, and many higher frequency sounds bring some pleasant variety.

This combination of sounds and subtle rhythms make this an extremely hypnotic and engrossing album. Rather than aiming for a particular visual or concrete atmosphere, this music completely immerses you in pure, warm sound, and it does it well. This is definitely something for trippy electronic music freaks only, as it might be somewhat of an acquired taste, but I'll be returning to this album often.

O.S.