Year: 2026
Label: Zoharum
Swedish Jarl are at it again: another hefty piece of ambient, exploring the more minute details of the human body. The previous albums we’ve reviewed by them, Synapse Variation Report (here) and Receptor Radiation (here) also dealt with similar topics, so we’re on familiar ground. Apparently this is an informal continuation of the two albums mentioned.
Considering the conceptual approach remains, it will come as no surprise that by and large, so does the musical. Again, this is ambient of an abstract kind, built around analogue synthesizers.
One thing I note about Nerve Cell Threads Electronics is that it’s a surprisingly active album. On the surface layer, on first glance, it seems calm, harmonious and tranquil. But as you get acquainted with the sound and dig deeper, you start to notice that the layers of synth are actually anything but tranquil. They pulsate, throb, ebb and flow constantly in long, arpeggiated notes.
It’s very fitting. It’s like looking at the nervous system of an organism initially from a distance, and then zooming in. At first, it seems like it’s in a balanced state, like a constant and even flow of information. However, as you come closer, you start to see a constant flicker of activity, of signals being transmitted and nerve cells flaring into action, resting, flaring into action again. You realize the calm was only apparent, hiding a constant flurry of activity.
Basically, Jarl manages to create and album that sounds like its subject matter. This is the kind of ambient that could well play on the soundtrack of some documentary exploring these themes. It’s hurry-free, constantly shifting and evolving soundscapes are entirely abstract, but at the same time manage to capture an essence of the inspiration behind them.
Considering it’s a continuation of the previous albums, even if it is an informal one, it is only appropriate that the soundscapes take on a similar guise as on Nerve Cell Threads Electronics’ predecessors. If the above description of the sound remains too vague for you, I refer you to the two reviews I linked above. They give a good understanding also of how this album sounds. That said, Nerve Cell Threads Electronics is more active, more “happening” in a subtle, unintrusive way. It never gets hectic or cluttered.
Largery, the same qualitative end result also applies as to the two predecessors: it takes a special kind of music listener to enjoy this music. The album’s soundscapes might be a bit too mobile for some ambient listeners, even. But if you’re the right kind of listener, in the right kind of mood, Jarl offers up some very titillating ambient abstraction on Nerve Cell Threads Electronics.
Only Death Is Real 