Perlieu – Bloom
Having released guitar-based ambient works under both his GP~00 and .Redshifts guises, ‘Bloom’ finds Adam W. Flynn’s latest offering under the Perlieu banner. Derived from the word purlieu, meaning a place to roam at large, it’s a moniker that suits this record remarkably well.
Less of an instrument-based effort and more reliant on electronically textured sounds, ‘Bloom’ collects eight compositions of wind-blasted soundscapes and sub-zero ambient mist, with titles including ‘Snow’ and ‘Isolated’ offering clues as to what is intended. ‘Snow I’ immediately sets a secluded tone, followed by the swarming ruminations of ‘Mostly Gone’, which hypnotically recreates the sounds of towering, rolling waves. “Snow II”, meanwhile, hits its stride with considerable force, its thundering atmospherics surely an aural representation of a violent Arctic storm.
If the intention here is to convey differing emotions or feelings with each composition, then Flynn has certainly done his job. ‘Eventide’ slips between Hammock-like warmth and Tangerine Dream-esque mystery, constantly keeping this reviewer on his toes. ‘Lay by the Locks’, on the other hand, is a tad more chilling, its industrialized soundscapes coming across like the atmosphere of some strange, alien land.
As the grainy melancholia of final chapter ‘Isolated II’ dissipates into darkness, forty-five transfixing and evocative minutes have passed. This album took some three years of experimentation and recording, with Flynn navigating through a “‘tonne” of audio for its creation. Time well spent indeed, as this electro-textural approach is one that very much suits him.