Conor Fynes 'Bark Of Ra' - Senmuth (7/10)

In my journey through the vast expanse of albums that Senmuth has to offer, I have always made it my mission to search amidst the legions of mediocre releases, to hopefully find a handful of albums that stand out as being really great. While my experience with Senmuth thus far has been quite mixed, there have been a very gems among the rocks, and it just so happens that I've come across another great album in 'Bark Of Ra.'

The most popular of Senmuth's works by Last FM standards, 'Bark Of Ra' takes the sound typically associated with his more ambient and listless music, and an unprecedented level of direction and flow to it that makes for an engaging and satisfying experience. A purely instrumental album, the listener is left to their own devices to make their own story through the music here, and things do flow here in a much more intentional fashion than they usually do in a Senmuth work.

There is a great diversity in the emotions and timbres that are exercised in 'Bark Of Ra,' but what makes this stand out as an above-average Senmuth release is that alot of the compositions are alot tighter and well-thought out. This is certainly no structural masterpiece by any means; many of the songs do fall back into a state of being unengaging a little more than would be desirable. However, what's being shown here is Senmuth really consolidating his talents with writing, and being a little bit more careful and intentional in terms of where the music ends up going.

At times relaxing, exotic, frightening, and occasionally a mixture of all three, Senmuth's 'Bark Of Ra' is a clear statement that this Russian experimental project is making big steps in improving itself.