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Reviews

Robert Logan — Habitations
(Bandcamp Evel Records, 2026, CD / LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-03-28

Habitations Cover art

The fourteen tracks of Habitations are meant to represent inhabitable worlds, be they human, animal, thoughts and memories, and more. What does it mean to inhabit? Not just spaces where one can live and breathe, but also musical spaces and spaces within the mind, dreams, confusion, and the outer reaches of thought. As always, Logan approaches these ideas in various ways though radically innovative musical endeavor, creating worlds where just about anything can happen, but nothing is likely to happen twice in short order. Like his earlier recent releases that we have reviewed here, Brutalist and Regenesis (both from 2025), the sounds we hear on Habitations are built on a foundation of synths, electronics, industrial rhythms, and recorded elements that all work together in unique ways. Each of the cuts is a discrete musical statement that is like no other; most are melodically strong though in unpredictable ways, with odd rhythms and textural elements that follow no rules, while ideas turn and twist freely, opening doors to mystery and chaos, it seems at times that a listener can hear a lot more than is actually there, or if it is there it could be merely a cluster of imaginary fragments from deep inside the mind. “Only Embrace” seems to be a dreamy transmission of near symphonic quality, beautiful yet stubborn, with a heartbeat type rhythm for most of its duration. A shimmering fabric backdrop courses through an irregular rhythmic pattern on “Insect Brothers” where one can imagine a confusing and unpredictable world where six-legged monsters dance wildly. More chaos comes forth in the brutal “Metal Nests” where odd and irregular cadences share the space with squeaks, snorts and a mystifying chaotic wonderworld, while the brief “Homing Signal” drones and bends through open space without a tether, leading directly into “Will to Life” where repeating figures and looplets undergird some interesting sequenced patterns and rhythms. The longest piece, at just over ten minutes, is the hauntingly beautiful “Geometry of Birds” where colorful ribbons of sound mix freely with cryptic sonic elements. Habitations is a powerful set of that should offer the discriminating listener an open door to myriad avant sonic possibilities.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Robert Logan / Firehand

More info
http://evel.bandcamp.com/album/habitations

 

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