- A warm, lengthy composition from the American ambient favorite.
- Philadelphia artist Ulla Straus consistently eludes expectation with her subdued but otherworldly electronic music. In just under five years she's become part of the vanguard of modern ambient, landing on labels like West Mineral Ltd., Experiences Ltd. and Quiet Time. Her last album, 2021's Limitless Frame, put a glitchy, melancholy spin on electro-acoustic jazz. Strauss's latest release, "Hope Sonata," lands on Australian label Longform Editions, which invites artists to make lengthy single pieces, often out of their comfort zone. This one, however, picks up where Strauss last left off, built around organic, melodic instruments.
Clocking in at 23 minutes, the piece paints a sonic landscape that evokes those golden, humid moments after a summer rainstorm. It opens with soulful piano, saxophone and distant siren noises, coming together in a way that calls to mind a particularly dark Bernard Herrmann score. The track eventually evolves into pretty acoustic guitar noodling, which slowly becomes more filtered and distant until the composition abruptly cuts out. "Hope Sonata" is peaceful and contemplative, but after I spent some time with it, it also became a little unsettling.
Straus's work is vaporous, and the directness of this new output feels almost boisterous within the context of her reserved discography. At once murky, unnerving and commanding, "Hope Sonata" is one of the most solid, almost corporeal musical worlds she’s crafted to date.