BLAKE

"Blake" is the third installment of Andrew Othling's "in utero" series whereby he creates a work of music inspired by, and in honor of, his arriving children. Each is named after the child and features a very personal cover photo like this one. Lowercase Noises is his musical outlet but for the most part it is a one-man show.

Othling has two main styles based on the albums I've heard. The first is more typically post-rock in that there is recognizable structure/format and the emotional soaring/melodies I think of with post-rock, his latest album "This is for our sins" would be an example of that. The second is the ambient, quiet, Eno like album. "Blake falls into this second type of Lowercase experience. Slow, soft, quiet interludes come in wave after wave, putting the listening in a very relaxed state. The songs are built around quiet and contemplative guitar notes/chords delivered one by one and allowed to shimmer, to ripple away.

Behind the shimmering guitar you will hear occasional lilting piano lines and a bit of complimentary cello that works really well. The entire album move in this manner allowing one to really sink into it without distraction, save one sweet moment where the voices of children appear in one song. All of these albums are such beautiful and unique expressions of love from a young father to his future children. As I listen I am thinking about that inspiration and how it is informing the songwriting and my only conclusion is that you are hearing pure love emanating through your speakers. Simple as that. If that all sounds a little too precious for your tastes, don't write it off so quickly. There are no lyrics here so the presentation is really not sentimental or sappy.

"Blake" and all of Lowercase's discog can be streamed at their page. If you love post-rock or ambient instrumental music in the guitar realm, you'd be wise to check it out.