Track Listing
Bird Flight
Hope Is A Walking Dream
The Smell Of Rain
No Going Back
The Rising
Redemption
Pitched as a journey toward catharsis, Chapter 4 is a moody, atmospheric album that uses a good range of ideas across the 6 tracks available. At times the mixing between instrumental states don’t always work as well together as they could. As a musical journey however, there is a consistency with this one as the simple, soft pianos early on pave way for more electronica later in the mix, but a few of the songs could have done with being moved around for a more natural journey.
As a big fan of instrumental music, Omega dB’s Chapter 4 is a decent enough album despite its flaws and if you need something to listen to while studying or working – this is actually a solid choice.
The album itself begins with “Bird Flight”, a song which, in Omega dB’s (Adrián Gázquez) own words is a soundtrack accompanying the visuals of a lark flying toward the sun. The piano-heavy motif in this does a really good job capturing the mood, although a minute into the track there is a slightly abrupt and awkward shift from piano chimes into strings that could have done with a bit more tightening up. Thankfully this is rectified by “Hope Is A Walking Dream”, which is easily one of the better songs on the mix.
The strings and pianos work harmoniously together and the crescendo is naturally built up into “The Smell Of Rain” which changes that warm and uplifting feel into something a lot darker and more sci-fi orientated. “No Going Back” is an interesting track because there’s clearly a lot of emotion put into this one but its placement on the back of “The Smell Of Rain” feels ill-fitting and could have done with being put earlier in the mix.
From here, the mix moves back into darker, minor-key territory for “The Rising” and “Redemption”. Both of these songs do well to really nail that eerie, sci-fi vibe but the sample shot of a person breathing in “Redemption” dominates the mix, consequently resulting in the synths drowning out a little.
With a few of the tracks switched round in the mix placement, some EQ balancing and a couple of editing tweaks, Chapter 4 could be a great instrumental, atmospheric album. There’s certainly a lot of positives with this one though and from someone who probably listens to about 4 hours of instrumental music a day while working, Chapter 4 is not a bad effort at all. There’s a clear musical journey at work here and although it doesn’t always hit the right notes, there’s enough in this one to enjoy nonetheless.
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