Caught Between Too Much and Too Little

Electronic musician Amphior, aka Mathias Hammerstrøm, opens on a positive note: »Under the Stars« exudes a Twin Peaks–like melancholic romanticism infused with an unsettling timbre that raises expectations. By the second track, however, it becomes clear that the listening experience will not be quite as positive as one might initially have hoped.

»Time Is a Thief« simply does not impress in the same way. On top of the clichéd ticking clock in the background, neither the piano melody nor the atmospheric elements make much of an impact, stuck in the nondescript middle ground between too much and too little. Unfortunately, this alternation between compelling tracks and more filler-like pieces comes to characterize the release as a whole.

Both »Healing« and »Disappearing« feature strong melodies with a delicate, ethereal, bittersweet melancholy. Like »Time Is a Thief«, »Bloom« also employs a ticking clock as a background element, but to far better effect, as the music above it is much more captivating – not least thanks to Stine Benjaminsen’s (aka Recorder Recorder) clipped vocal samples, which lend the track a welcome sense of strangeness. The release does, however, contain a number of tracks that never manage to leave a lasting impression, no matter how many times one listens. A melody that simply needed a bit more life. An effect that could have benefited from being turned up. It is a shame, because on roughly half of the tracks Hammerstrøm demonstrates that he is capable of creating truly beautiful music.