Black Trees Among Amber Skies by Altus (Review)

If you’re like me and welcome the incoming autumn chill with open arms, then I’ll point you towards Altus’ Black Trees Among Amber Skies.

Mike Carss’ ambient recording project shares its name with the closing track on Steve Roach’s The Magnificent Void, which might give you a clue as to what to expect sonically. Altus’ album certainly contains plenty of Roach-esque ambient drift, but whereas Roach’s acclaimed album plumbed the black depths of interstellar space, Black Trees Among Amber Skies opts for a more terrestrial sound.

In that regard, Black Trees Among Amber Skies is closer in tone and scope to Roach’s frequent collaborator Vidna Obmana. Like Vidna Obmana, Carss’ compositions are quite evocative and even occasionally intimate, with simple little details, such as angelic vocals and sparse piano noties, emerging from the drifting layers of synthesizer. It settles quite nicely into the background of whatever you’re doing, even when listened to via headphones. But when a track like “Sodium Glow”, with its solemn bell-like tones and deep sonorities, begins to coalesce, the album’s emotional heft is truly felt.

Black Trees Among Amber Skies, like all of Altus’ releases, can be downloaded for free.