Ambient albums that are rooted in nature and serenity are projects that lean towards a history of historical materialism: How a certain sound came to be, where it originated, and when it has established itself. Oftentimes, concept ambient albums are packed with soundscapes that are mapped to make a listener feel a strong emotion.
For instance, British composer Leyland Kerby, better known as The Caretaker, releases a concept album every year. And as it progresses, it embodies the feeling of losing your ability to recall — the loss of memory as progression becomes an immediate antagonist. Like all ambient albums, it is a statement. A memento in time. In a similar attempt, Filipino singer-songwriter ((( O ))), formerly known as June Marieezy, has dedicated herself to a long term rollout by releasing a series of twelve albums every year. That, in itself, is a statement.
Although halting the streak in 2022, the albums became progressively more ethereal, selecting softer beats of kicks and sparse instrumentation. Listening to her albums is like experiencing nature, except more synthetic with less reliance on field recordings. The first “seed” released in 2019 was the moment June Marieezy rebirthed into ((( O ))) and began a new body of work. It straddles along the lines of jazzy passages and a smooth, laid-back production that’s sporadically dense to the point that the vocal performances stand out on its own.
The second and third seeds, released in 2020 and 2021 respectively, were more subtle. ((( O ))) experiments with several new things in her arsenal: the use of autotune, more analog synthesizers on top of other synthesizers. As albums that move along with the rise and decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, ((( O ))) and her play on history was never downplayed; there’s proof of isolation and experimentation involved. However, the fourth seed released last year was a return to form. It showcases ((( O ))) and her signature neo-R&B approach: the island vacation musings, longing for an escape, and her knack for jazz grooves.
After these four releases, all of a sudden, genre tropes went straight out the window. Her latest album is an ambient album that is straight to the point. The fifth seed is an installation that requires every inch of the listener’s attention. It drags way too much with its first few tracks, and its latter ideas sound more abstract once the context is missing. This is ((( O )))’s major flaw: the missing context of the ambiance it is trying to portray.
((( 5 ))) neither portrays a soundscape that bounds itself to the confines of minimalism, nor the loud and chaotic maximalism of its textures. “crystals form” sounds bright, evoking formation without having any suspenseful structure, while the swamp-like atmosphere of “ribbits” isn’t effective enough to transcendentally shift your listening experience entirely. The closers “safe place” and “rainbows” are disjointed in sound selection: sparse floorboard percussions and synth crescendos bookend the album with no rhyme or reason. ((( O ))) leads us on a tedious journey that goes nowhere but the shallow shores of its production.
In general, the troubling aspect of ((( O )))’s music is to understand her intent: what she’s been through, and what she’s trying to say. The fifth seed is a statement that sounds weightless.
