Netherworld

Alessandro Tedeschi runs Rome's Glacial Movements imprint, a self-described purveyor of "glacial and isolationist ambient" music. As Netherworld, Tedeschi takes his label's frosty philosophy even further. Alchemy of Ice is a feast of benumbing sonic textures unfolding at the pace of an advancing glacier. Piercing beauty envelopes these six extended, drone-filled passages, akin to the playful rays of sun that bounce across an ice-covered body of water in the wintertime. Gorgeous church bells toll to infinity on "Alchemy of Snow," while "Icepulse" attempts to hide a delicate melody beneath a blizzard of ambiguous tones. The effective use of field recordings — some sourced from a cave in Lazio, Italy — anchors the music to the material world, a facet that's sometimes lacking in modern ambient music. Alchemy of Ice ultimately succeeds by emphasizing the comely aspects of its subject and not leaving the listener out in the cold.