The Bending of Light

Having each built an initial reputation for moody, drone-tinged dark ambience in their respective solo work, it's no surprise that the first collaboration between Jonathan Lee (Anduin) and Dag Rosenqvist (Jasper TX) should fall into a similar vein. The combination of reflective float and dark undertones isn't in and of itself groundbreaking, but The Bending of Light does provide a chance for two related aesthetics to play off each other well. With song titles taken from a piece of writing by Carl Sagan on the property of light in the aftermath of a star's death, The Bending of Light begins with calm but certainly uneasily rhythmic tones over a fuzzy layer of deep noise. By the time "...Producing Great Jets of Radiation" is reached, though, things are more ominous all around, something later songs like "...Where a Star Once Was" hardly alleviate. Soothing moments aren't absent, as the somewhat gentler shimmer of "Everything Disappears in a Tunnel of Light..." shows, but James Plotkin's mastering keeps it from being too light, while the concluding piano part ends the song on an appropriate note of unsureness.