The World Next Door Builds an Absorbing Sonic World of Freaky Folktronica on 'Find Your Face in It'

BY Sam GillettPublished Jun 5, 2020

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Blending electronica and freak folk, Find Your Face in It is a worthy third album from soundscape sculptor the World Next Door. The brainchild of Scott Gray, the World Next Door layers sounds which sway like rhythmic waves and brim with creative vision.

While not a step back from his last record, 2017's Long Con Turtle Stack, Find Your Face In It opts for more soothing tracks, lilting through acoustic guitar and synth in equal measure, pushing beyond any easy genre label. It seems like a continuation of the World Next Door's sound, with tracks that don't push farther than his previous work, yet still satisfy. And at 18 tracks long, it is a feast of sound, spanning the breadth of Gray's sonic arsenal of samples, whining guitar, snappy drums and lilting synth.

In tracks like "Goat Lore," the World Next Door balances intimate warmth in gentle twangs of string with airy, resonant drums: It's a refreshing sound, and that idea, of balance, echoes throughout the album.

There are pops of energy in "Cult of Our" and "Martyr Mimes" that disrupt the mantra-like repetition of rhythms in a wholly delicious way, making for music which demands your attention while earning it too; it's wonderful stuff.

Often, an album of ambient sound — of layered instrumentals — can all blend into one, with songs losing their individuality across the album's runtime. Not here. The World Next Door's creations are wholly unique beings, inviting listeners into these landscapes.

This is headphone music, for late-night ramblings in unknown worlds, etched out sonically in layers of oh-so-satisfying freak folk-inspired electronica.


Full disclosure: Scott Gray works with Exclaim! as a writer and distributor. 
(Trinket Trance)

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