Ambient hip/hop producer Taz has managed to make one of the most violently sexual, incredibly unnerving, and maddeningly beautiful records in years. Full Blossom of the Evening – the title taken from a famous line from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks – sets a very similar mood to the classic TV series, with flowing and beautiful piano riffs set against sinister chords that make the listening experience very uncomfortable and addictive. Immersing yourself in the universe of Full Blossom of the Evening is taking a bubble bath in blood, the ghostly touch of a long dead lover, and cemetery wind blowing through your hair.
On the ghostly waltz of “struggle,” the somber dance of a piano line and the growling of a synth almost feel invasive, as if you accidentally stumbled into someone’s basement and watched them slowly tickle the ivories of a long broken upright piano. The track “bedroom” begins with an almost dance remix of the opening of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” until it abruptly shifts into dark shuffle that quickly fades into black. Almost all of the songs feel incomplete, but not unfinished, as if waking up from a nightmare.
Though available for streaming off of Bandcamp, clearly Taz intended for us to listen on cassette. While some have struggled to understand the resurgence of tape in the recent years, an album like Full Blossom of The Evening deserves to be heard on a ratchety old tape deck with all of the smooth ambient noise punctuated by decades of dust, as if to add a layer of faded memories to the record. Put out by Graveyard Orbit, a local label that specializes in extremely limited editions of albums, accentuate the scarcity of the record to a physical level.
Ask anyone today if they know any ambient artists. Forty percent will say, “You mean the people who make elevator music?” Another forty percent will cite Brian Eno, and the last twenty will probably claim Oneohtrix Point Never. Ambient music has the ability to evoke strong emotions with minimal music, and people need to know that there is great music being made today in this misunderstood genre. Taz can lead a revolution with this incredibly strong and confident new album. Full Blossom of the Evening should be added to the “walking down the street alone at night” canon along with Fever Ray and Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada. Happy listening, and sleep with one eye open.
– Dylan Garsee