Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Jeff Myers — Goodnight
(Bandcamp Neuma JM01, 2025, DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2025-05-22

Goodnight Cover art

Jeff Myers is a contemporary composer of operas and neo-classical pieces, as well as experimental electroacoustic compositions. His new album Goodnight is a set of eight instrumental compositions involving drones from what I think may be a deconstructed piano and possibly some electronics. Myers is a nightowl, often going to bed just before dawn. He prefers to use these quiet hours to explore long sounds and to stare into them with his ears. He began this practice in the middle of the pandemic, making extended drone compositions for his own enjoyment or as a way of relaxing and falling asleep. He drew on his large catalog of piano harmonics as the source for his dronescapes; stretching, shaping, and layering them to make walls, corridors, and clouds of sound. The result is an experimental drone album lasting 1 hour 46 minutes across eight tracks ranging in length from seven to 27 minutes. Though each composition is sonically different, they all feature sustained notes and chords that slowly interact resulting in constantly changing textures. The opening title track, “Goodnight,” is an amorphous sonic lullaby lasting 27 minutes with its nocturnal spectral timbres. Some of the other tracks, such as “Orbital,” “Oxytocin,” and “Cross” remind me of 50s and 60s sci fi movie scores like Louis and Bebe Barron’s Forbidden Planet. But trying to make it all the way through the nearly two hours of music can start to numb your brain with these sustained tones, sometimes pulsating, overwhelming your senses with barely perceptible changes. Fans of La Monte Young or Eliane Radigue may find themselves in vaguely familiar territory with Goodnight — it’s an adventurous album that may not appeal to everyone.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Jeff Myers

More info
http://jeffmyers.bandcamp.com/album/goodnight-2

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.