Review: Kigo- Like Amber

For followers of this blog, it should go without saying that I have become a pretty big kigo fan over the past few releases. There's just something so arresting about the music that Dwayne Pearce makes under this name, and I can't help but keep coming back for each fuzzed out piece of music he throws our way. He recently released the second single from kigo's upcoming album, which I, needless to say, am excited about.

'Like Amber' is a little more subdued than some of kigo's other songs, as the cascading waves of synth replace the fuzzed out guitar tones we've become accustomed to. The guitar here works in more melodic and complex lines that weave their way throughout the track, and I'm really a fan of the chilled out drum track here and how it seems to almost slip off the beat but somehow keep a deeply hypnotic rhythm. Pearce's voice, as always, is well obscured by the rest of the mix, but that really works to incorporate it more as an additional instrument that really complements the ambient synth drone and the guitar work. I do like the fuzzed out sound that other kigo songs have, but I can really appreciate the more subtle nuances of this track due to its quieter nature, and for that I can say its one of kigo's more melodic and beautiful compositions.

With these past few singles, it's really interesting to see the new directions that kigo is taking with this new album, and I think that this project is going to be a pretty diverse and interesting take on shoegaze music. I'm really looking forward to hearing the new project, and I doubt no one is surprised to learn that I liked this track.

I'll be back later to do some more reviews and album spotlights, Not really sure what just yet, but I'm cooking up some stuff.

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