Even though I’m fairly new to the more “atmospheric” genres of music, I do have a rough idea of what I like. I realized I’m much more fond of bands that have brooding, bleak and ominous melodies and texture, instead of just being depressing and melancholic, and I enjoy a much denser and fuller sound, instead of some bands’ minimalist approach.

NERONOIA plays a melancholic and minimalist form of Dark Ambient. The band is actually a side-project of the band CANAAN, although everyone currently in CANAAN is in NERONOIA. Anyway, “Il Rumore Delle Cose” is pretty much the type of Ambient music I dislike. It’s slow, with this sad and morose mood permeating over the entire album, with hardly any change in dynamics as the album goes on, minus a few places. I guess the very low-key melodies with sparse arrangements are what attracts some people to this genre of music, but it’s not for me.

The two biggest problems I have with the album is the repetitive nature of the songs, and how it never grabs my attention. The songs offer little variation in tempo, mood and dynamics. They all start off with a quaint melody played on the guitar or keyboards, and then a few seconds later the entire band joins to give the song a fuller sound. That’s probably nitpicking, but all of the songs feel and sound the same, which leads me to my next point. The lack of variation on the album makes for a boring listen, so there is no one song that comes out and grabs me and makes me pay attention. Thus, “Il Rumore Delle Cose” becomes background music, and the type which makes me always think “how long ago did the album finish?” That translates to me never paying any attention to the album when it’s on, and that’s never a good sign.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend this album, but I’m relatively new to Dark Ambient, so I’m not the best reference for bands to check out. So if you like Dark Ambient, you should check NERONOIA out for yourself to see what you think of them.

(Online July 29, 2008)