Eric Angelo Bessel crafts an enveloping ambient sound across his second solo album, Mirror at Night. We have been anticipating the album since hearing the track “Scavengers” in August; its beautiful nocturnal mystique produced a gripping soundscape.

Now, the Portland, Oregon-based artist impresses with a fantastic full-length that compels in its dynamic range, from the effervescent glow of “Snow Globe” to the more nighttime-set unease of “Scavengers.” Representing the fifth release on the Lore City Music imprint, Mirror at Night enamors in its soundscape and steadily unveiling song structures, showing particular fondness for the sound of the Mellotron and Alesis synths.

Opening the album, “Tendons” moves with a droning intrigue — like a ghost wandering weightlessly through a chilly night. Its subdued, minimalist character provides an ideal sense of introspection, as the more blaring warmness of “Snow Globe” then takes hold. The glimmering tones within exude an illuminated gorgeousness, aptly titled since it would feel at home played against drifting snow flurries. The album’s opening one-two punch shows an ability to succeed atmospherically in both neon-lit alleyways and spacious tundras.

The highlights are numerous throughout — from the ethereal, otherworldly character of “Moving Walkway” to the delicate calmness within “Coming Around.” While “Headlamps” succeeds in a more pulsating energy, the tracks that come thereafter strut a gently absorbing tonal disposition that ultimately ends the album with elegantly lush atmospheric prowess, cumulatively. Succeeding in its brilliant ambient sound, Mirror at Night is a standout success of an album from Eric Angelo Bessel.

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“Scavengers” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

The post Eric Angelo Bessel – ‘Mirror at Night’ appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.