What does it sound like?:
This two cd set from the Sheffield instrumental four piece, subtitled Music For An Infinite Universe, doubles as both their new album and as a soundtrack of sorts to the long awaited and hotly anticipated PS4 game No Man’s Sky.
It comprises ten original new songs on the first disc, with the second featuring an additional six ‘soundscapes’, that form an integral part of the whole listening experience.
The music, together with a library of raw audio, will be used by the game’s music engine to create a self-generating soundtrack to accompany the gameplay. Having said that, the band have not let the game dictate what they can and can’t do. Instead, they have used the opportunity to further evolve their already groundbreaking sounds.
Unlike many soundtrack albums, this stands alongside their best work – chilled, transcendental, tranquil washes of ambient electronica vie with epic slabs of apocalyptic, pile driving industrial attack.
An ambitious album, both challenging and rewarding in equal measure.
What does it all *mean*?
Perhaps this is what forever sounds like, the sound of endless possibilities.
Goes well with…
Check out their previous half dozen albums – in particular 2013’s Wild Light and their 2011 soundtrack to the classic sci fi film Silent Running.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Ambience, electronica, Mogwai, Sigur Ros.
I picked this up on Friday. I’m a long time 65 fan, and looking forward to the game, so I am firmly in the target market for this one. It hasn’t had the regulation six listens yet, but early impressions are that it is a proper corker.
Just wanted to say great review, and that I really enjoyed this album – thought “Supermoon” was the pick, but it’s all good.
Managed to spend a couple of dozen hours with the game itself. It’s a strange one. On the one hand, I completely get where all the online criticism is coming from, because it’s clearly not what was promised – there are scads of missing features, it’s nowhere near as open as was first suggested and there’s a really shocking lack of things to do.
Nevertheless, I’ve been enjoying it. It’s a huge departure from contemporary gaming mores – there’s very little going on, and you’re just encouraged to kind of amble around the place checking things out. It doesn’t hold your hand, doesn’t usher you from one sight or event to another, it just kind of dumps you in the middle of nowhere and runs off. Now, that’s very much against the grain in terms of what we expect from games these days, but it kind of took me back to the 80s/90s and games like Midwinter and (yes) Elite. It reminded me of that old feeling of being sort of wowed at what games might eventually be able to do, the kind of scale they might occupy, while simultaneously being ever so slightly bored at the same time.
I should also add that it’s the most chill game experience I’ve had in years, if not ever. It’s very hard to die, there really is almost no concept of success/failure. You just trundle around checking things out and digging the whole 70s sci-fi novel cover vibe. If that sounds like a good time, then fill your boots, because there’s plenty here. If you were hoping for massive dogfights with hundreds of ships, rewarding interactions with alien species and a load of side missions then I’d suggest moving along. It’s basically a space tourism simulator, and the journey is the thing, rather than the destination.
One unexpected bonus is that it’s completely hooked both my kids. It hadn’t occurred to me that they might enjoy it, but they watched me play it for five minutes and that was that – the lack of threat means it’s a great environment for them to practice flying a space ship, and they’re more than happy to just wander around the place taking it all in and trying to find weird looking animals. My two year old son especially so – he’s shown no interest in games at all to date, but this has rung his bell to a surprising extent. It’s also sufficiently boring that I’m able to kid myself that it’s probably somehow educational for them both.
Anyway, I’d say it’s worth checking out when the price comes down. Just manage your expectations and enjoy it for what it is.