Kidsawcat- Narrow End (2020)

Ambient music always interested me... it's amazing how you can make an entire album, nevermind a song, by playing barely to no actual notes. I really wanted to explore ambient music, and my attention immediately got drawn to the project Kidsawcat, who actually follows me on both my instagram accounts, so if they are reading this, hey, i love your account and music. I was waiting for something of a larger project to come out to see what they had in store, and right at the end of the year, this album showed up on my feed and I was immediately invested. I wasn't expected to get transported into another dimension, however, this project is d a r k and I really want to hear more bodies of work like this, since, this is amazing stuff if you listen to it at the right time and place.

Track 1: Out of the grey

With album openers, their job is an important one; they're supposed to hook you in and make you want to keep listening and this exceeds those requirements. It's simple, it's quick but it does its job very well, almost telling you that this isn't what you think it is, but it makes you want to keep listening to it.

Track 2: Unified in the deep blue pt. 1

Oh okay so this actually has a really nice soothing guitar lead, however, the juxtaposition with that and the brooding noises in the background give it a unique feel. It turns up many other times on the album, but this is one of the best

Track 3: Unified in the deep blue pt. 2

A nice extension to pt. 1, it has the same energy, but this can stand alone on its own, I love how it is longer, and the ending is really really nice

Track 4: Unbound

I kinda like how this feels like a prologue to the next track, transition is smooth as butter, but not a lot to say about this one

Track 5: Always somewhere

Really really nice on the ears. It's so beautiful and lush, like sitting in a garden in the middle of a storm, it's such a great track

Track 6: Acceptance

A nice change in pace while sticking to the formula of the project. I love the ripple effect in pretty much every instrument on here, it's a nice way to say that not every song is going to sound the same

Track 7: The builder

Maybe it's the name, but this is one of the more atmospheric ones. It's a really nice soft track and I love it a lot

Track 8: Comfort of leaving

I love the switch-up on the guitar melodies on this one. It feels like the album is progressing, bit of a weird end, however.

Track 9: It's been said, it's true

One of the tracks picking back up the dark theme of it all, not much to say about it, the energy is uncertain as well as confused, title fits amazingly

Track 10: Proserpina

Possibly one of my favourite tracks on here due to how strange it sounds. I love the backing instruments that support the rough ones upfront. It's dark and mysterious and it pulls everything off really well.

Track 11: Tidings

A nice sea of unknown passes over you as this track goes in and out of your ears. Another favourite, but because of the murkiness of the tone, it's amazing

Track 12: The endless dance

One of the longer ones on here, however it doesn't waste time. The guitar is nice as always, I love the nice little loop it has going on in the background of the entire thing

Track 13: Gift

Great song. The boosted bass really feels like the opposite of a palette cleanser, but still feels like one and I love it.

Track 14: Last light

A good song to go at the end, it's beautiful, and it lasts an impact on you, which is a great thing to do with the final songs

Track 15: Rebirth

A nice callback to track 1 with a few tiny differences. It's in your face and it's unexpected, especially as the final song on here. It leaves you with something but you're not sure what.

Overall, it is a great album to vibe to, I know some people might actually call this a soothing record. It's something that feels like an experience where every track melts into the next where you want to have this on repeat forever, and on top of that, I found an ambient artist that I will casually listen to, and that was all I was hoping out of this record. I would like to note that I am not giving it a positive review so I can be on their good side, this is a project that I genuinely enjoy and would listen to it over again multiple times. My only really nitpick is how similar the songs sound, however the titles are so distinct you can probably know what you're talking about if you know where every song is placed. Most importantly, I am really looking forward to the next release.

7/10