4 out of 5

Label: Astral Spirits / Monofonus Press

Produced by: Mike Majkowsi

Haunting, emotive drone, wandering on an unnervingly wavy line between found sound, instrumentation, and electronic manipulations. Mike Majkowski’s Days and Other Days has a looping, inevitable feel to it that’s suggested by its title: music that occurs as much as it’s composed, unearthed and influenced by simply experiencing it. The “haunting” aspect may also be incidental, but that’s what makes it so effective – the lack of any sense of urging on Majkowski’s part in making this stuff explicitly one mood or another (or even identifiably bass versus keys versus noise) means you apply your own sense of wonder or terror to these nigh-ambient sounds of slowed heartbeat beats, occasional tinklings and plunkings of instrumentation, and “was that part of the recording?” traffic noises or outdoor chatter. Headphones are an ideal way to experience this, as Mike takes much advantage of stereo to pan you through the environments he’s crafted.

The middle of this album – Meadow and Matter – are both super expansive, and likely to mess with your mind a bit, as they’re strong on blending all of the above-mentioned elements. …And though I’ve said this stuff is up for interpretation, I do think these tracks lean more purposefully into darkness, with some surprisingly harsh interrupts and queasy effects. Opener Chapter is a bit more in a minimalist vein, and closer Growth ambient / drone; these are both impressive in the minutiae (especially how Chapter manages to maintain just enough sense of evolution, tip-toeing along), but peter out without much conclusion, leaving the more emotional heavy-lifting to the quite capable other tunes. But taken as a whole, this is still some of the most affecting and effecting work in this vein I’ve heard, as Majkowski’s has keyed into something that’s both primal, and yet very specific – requiring a hand confident in letting the listener discover the music on their own terms.