Prolific ambient knob twiddler Steve Moore's latest release comes after two intriguing EPs for Long Island Electrical Systems where he pursued a thick and dirty analogue sound. Sadly, it appears that this was a short-lived diversion. Pangaea Ultima is a cleaner, sprawling affair, but one lacking the ingenuity of some of Moore's more esoteric works. Swathes of the album are crafted from vast sheets of sound that hold both the faults and the redeeming qualities of the album. The sonic homogeneity of Pangaea Ultima falls short of hypnotic and instead lands somewhere in the region of adventurousness.
This not to say Moore has created a completely dull album; the coherence of his ideas and sense of persistence is interesting and occasionally sonically engaging. Nonetheless, the scope of some of Moore's earlier releases is definitely missing. One can get lost in Pangaea Ultima, but while sometimes it's due to the successful execution of ambient music's immersive effect, too often it stems from the album's overarching sense of flatness.
(Spectrum Spools)This not to say Moore has created a completely dull album; the coherence of his ideas and sense of persistence is interesting and occasionally sonically engaging. Nonetheless, the scope of some of Moore's earlier releases is definitely missing. One can get lost in Pangaea Ultima, but while sometimes it's due to the successful execution of ambient music's immersive effect, too often it stems from the album's overarching sense of flatness.
