メディカル: VICODIN HYDROCODONE

SCORE: 89/100

A darkly lit and grim project that sounds more gut-wrenching than the cover would lead you to believe, 'Vicodin Hydrocodone' is an ambient piano LP that mixes elements of experimental field recordings to make a gloomy and upsetting project that sounds like tragedy within the walls of a hospital building - with surrounding chatter around the soothing, yet sad piano, the melodies take on something more and drive the project through with raw emotion alone. There are sounds of hospital machinery beeping as the piano melody keeps going, a bleak scenario with peace being found through the piano harmonies alone - it's a jarring picture, but it comes together as something unexpected and something that I found more out of than I ever could have expected.

'Vicodin Hydrocodone' is a project that is much more than you may expect it to be - it's a deeply emotional and touching project that shows a darker side of the genre of field recordings while making something more of it; adding a genuine layer of musical emotion overtop of the sound effects that chime in and out throughout the album. It's a field recordings piece that gives the genre some genuine life and ambition - with the project feeling like a wholehearted attempt at something bigger rather than falling into the pit of albums that lack real musical substance that can be found in the same genre. It's a stunningly bittersweet album, with the piano melodies being truthfully stunning and wondrously played throughout while the underlying theme of the album looms overtop; giving the album a sad overtone despite the moments of hopeful chords.

This album grabbed and hooked me more than I thought something of this nature would - and although it isn't within my personal taste when it comes to day-to-day listening, I found a huge appreciation for the project as a whole and everything that it is. It's mainly piano which is done very tastefully and well, and the occasional sound effects help to push the theme of the album into a direction many projects will not go.

It's a truly heartbreaking assortment of pieces, some feeling like the truest moments of despair within ones lifetime. It feels like grief at its largest points, a widescale portrait of how it feels to discover that a loved one is sick in the hospital. It's a rough project when it comes to subject matter, but it manages to sound gorgeously polished when it comes out and reaches out to you. It's a striking project that can be taken and understood in many different ways - and it shows how classical pieces like these ones can be interpreted in countless different ways. No matter how you choose to see it, it gets darker and even more upsetting as the tracks progress.