Main
Firmament III
[Beggars Banquet]
Rating: 5.9
A half- dozen albums into his career, Main man Robert Hampson (sans-
Scott Dawson since the summer of 1996) proves
he's evolving. Unlike better known ambient artists like µ-Ziq and
the Orb that taint their organic and otherworldly atmospherics with
commercially viable dance beats, Main remains loyal to Brian Eno's
vision of ambient music as sonic wallpaper. One catch: you'd better
like your wallpaper cobwebby, yellowed, and peeling from the corners.
Firmament III could be the soundtrack to your next Halloween party.
The ominous footsteps and howling wind, the abandoned mansion with creaking
doors, the axe murderer in the shadows-- all of these nightmarish cliches
are here. Such environmental soundscapes will be nothing new to players of
video games like "Castlevania" or "Nightmare Creatures." Still, that Hampson
produces this haze of noise from his guitar, and that all five of the tracks
occasion a visceral (but not emotional) response, is reason enough to
commend Main for such esoteric experimentation.
Like most ambient music, Firmament III is difficult to appreciate on
a "casual listening" basis. To become truly engaged you'll have to either
turn out the lights and engross yourself in 39 minutes of bad karma, or
conversely put the album out of your mind so that it effects you at a
subconscious level. (Drugs probably work, too.) Either way, frequent
listening is likely to result in delusional episodes, fits of maniacal
laughter, and generally bad behavior.
-Zach Hammerman