Stream of Thought

Album Review

Steve Roach has never been one to turn away from collaborations, making this new partnership, with Norwegian musician Erik Wollo, both a familiar and a slightly different experiment. At this point in his now decades-long career Roach has not only established a general sonic approach but a wide range of variations within the general rubric of "ambient" music as described, and much of Stream of Thought similarly finds itself balanced between these two extremes — sweeping, gently cyclical swells of lush, gleaming electronic textures interweave with nervous understated rhythms, or chilled out musical flows that almost force the listener into contemplation. Split into 19 short, untitled tracks, Stream of Thought isn't mixed as a single track and might reward random resequencing on a listener's part, but as it stands it is perfectly enjoyable. Sequences such as what sounds like a cross between water dripping and the most understated glitch click track ever on the eighth song add quiet variety, though ultimately this is an album for dedicated fans of either artist rather than newcomers.