BASS COMMUNION

"Bass Communion" is the eponymoustly titled debut full-length studio album (sometimes also titled "Bass Communion I") by UK experimental music act Bass Communion. The album was released through the 3rd Stone label in April 1998. Bass Communion is an ambient/drone music project by Steven Wilson, who is probably more known for his solo output as well as his Porcupine Tree project. Wilson have several other projects though and Bass Communion is just one of them.

Bass Communion was formed by Wilson to explore ambient/drone musical landscapes, inspired by 70/80ss ambient/experimental music artists like Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, and David Sylvian. The regular version of the album (the vinyl version features the bonus track "No News Is Good News") features 5 tracks and a total playing time of 63:43 minutes.

"Shopping" is a short intro track, but once the 13:35 minutes long "Drugged" gets going, we´re exposed to a long ambient but quite pleasant soundscape. Nothing much is happening but at least it´s not an unpleasant listening experience. It gets dull fast though, and could well have been cut to a 2 minutes long track and you wouldn´t have missed anything. The 13:29 minutes long "Sleep Etc." which follows is almost offensive to my ears. It´s a darker and more oppressive sounding track, but it just goes on and on and on for so long with the same eerie notes being played again and again with next to no development. At this point I´m losing my patience.

"Orphan Coal" is up next and it´s a 10.17 minutes long track which features something which is reminiscent of a percussion rhythm with some eerie layered sounds on top. The track slowly builds towards a multi-layered more massive soundscape but ends without the percussion and instead some ambient flushes of sound come at the listener. It´s not the worst song here, but it´s a long, dragging, and not particularly eventful composition.

The album closes with the 24:54 minutes long "Drugged (Long Version"...which is basically just a 24:54 minutes long version of the 13:35 minutes long "Drugged" track, which we´ve already listened to earlier. At best this is easy listening meditation music, but I can´t see anyone listening to this trying to find interesting details and not getting a bit impatient for some action.

Upon conclusion "Bass Communion" is an album featuring very little interesting ambient music, and the "Sleep Etc." track is even a bit annoying. But if you crave more of the ambient/experimental moments of Porcupine Tree, this may make your blood boil (although I seriously doubt it). For a musician of Wilson´s caliber this just isn´t up to par with the quality of his other output and a 1 star (20%) rating is unfortunately warranted.

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