The first five minute track, “Salt”, misleads me into thinking that this will be an album composed of (almost-pop) songs. Alas, the 33 minute colossus that follows proves me otherwise. The buzzing tones and dropping drones resemble the dying sighs of digital whales, moaning to the light cymbals, scratching strings and ritualistic vocal calls. The Australian multi-instrumentalist appears behind electric and acoustic guitars, driving forth the stagnating beast, the way he’s perfected when working with doom metal and dark ambient group, Sunn O))). No prisoners survive this onslaught, as the rolling thunder gains momentum in density and noise, while the drumming keeps up with the pace. When the gust passes, the album opens up like a flower that has survived the storm, with a beautiful “Passage”, contrasting and complimenting Ambarchi’s overall vision of minimalism, drone, and folk. With a wide array of contributing artists, such as Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, Christ Townend and Joe Talia, Audience Of One is an album that could have only been released by Touch – a free falling trip into a lab of abstract frequencies and sound. As a four-part suite, this is a welcome return for Ambarchi to the label, having previously released In The Pendulum’s Embrace in 2007. Grab your copy from touchshop.org