Stromboli Bazaar - 'Textures - A Rain of Glass'

Rennes, France-based artist Stromboli Bazaar delights across new album Textures – A Rain of Glass, crafting memorable soundscapes through an array of synths, guitars, loops, and archival sounds sampled from family VHS tapes and home videos dating back to the 1990s. Conceived initially as a sleep-oriented project, the ambient collection also incorporates everyday recordings of rain, indoor spaces, outdoor environments, and toy trains, lending its compositions a personal archival dimension.

Following a gently absorbing introduction with washes of gentle synths, “Italian Dinner” emerges with meditative entrancement. Dreamy, trickling guitars accompany a variety of samples, resembling nocturnal cricket-chirping and creaky maneuvers in its seamless cohesion with the consistent guitars and slight touches of synths. The ensuing “Heavy Eyes” aptly exudes a sleepier quality, with submerged-sounding electronics and more subdued guitar elements interacting with the cricket-chirping resemblances. It doesn’t take long for the album to establish an innate, transportive ability to craft warming, nostalgic soundscapes.

The highlights are diverse throughout. “Sleep Textures” emits a droning pulsation, fit for contemplation or deep sleep, while “Shouts and Capital Letters” rides on a percussive-minded focus, hypnotizing in its galloping steadiness and glitchy incorporations. Elsewhere, “Soon or Sooner” fuses bird-chirping and serene acoustics, resembling a daytime counterpart to “Italian Dinner.” Album finale “Au revoir” is another gem, its woozy synth undercurrent pairing playfully with glimmers of stutter-y electronics. Eclectic tonally yet with a consistently melodic aura, Textures – A Rain of Glass is a gorgeous ambient album from Stromboli Bazaar.