Synthdance.com

To describe the opener, "Kaleidoscope Eyes" in a single word, 'meditative seems appropriate'. Though let's try a little harder than that. The chords are lengthy & floaty, like uncomplicated clouds drifting smoothly through a sea of serenity. In a world where Kaleidoscope Eyes blasts from heavens above, everyone is calm.

It's impossible for the mind not to conjure dreamlike images when listening to the playful shimmers and dancing keys of "Revisiting Places We Have Never Been". It's right there in the title after all. You ever dream the same location more than once? It's so weird huh? Well Kraft here captures that feeling and translates it in part from 'weird' to pretty, expertly as ever, and builds an atmosphere that sounds both hopeful and intangible.

"Other Landscapes" continues to build on the dreamlike structure put forward on RPWHNB (that's an acronym for the previous track, not BVSMV's sibling). This time, a greater emphasis on rhythmic bell patterns gives a greater sense of forward momentum, despite the lack of percussion. A truly gorgeous piece of music. Followed by 'And Waves of Dreams', a shorter excursion with bolder arpeggios that somehow sounds more subdued than what came before. It's somehow more dynamic yet calmer. Figure that one out. Or just listen and enjoy it like a normal person.

"At Dawn" on the other hand is decidedly more direct. Like brilliant sunbeams, keys cascade from over the horizon, painting the green pastures in a kaleidoscope of colour, shiny and bright, heavenly and with purpose.

Immediately upon hearing "More Than I Ever Could Have Imagined", it's 'hello melancholy'. This is not a word typically associated with Kraft's music. Don't get me wrong, he's not typically out here making over the top smile-or-I-shoot-you pop hits; they tend to be either beautiful ambient pieces or slick Synthwave bangers. This one on the other hand is heavy. Don't get me wrong, he isn't scoring Saving Private Ryan here, but there's some palpable pathos being brought to the proceedings here, and the results are rather breathtaking.

Finally we come to the closer, "The Future Ahead". It sounds like a darkened landscape slowly being illuminated by various coloured light sources. Fairies, Will-o-wisps... I don't know... gnomes? All of them casting shimmering spells that turn night into day, in an eerie phantasmic array of glowing hemispheres. Revealing the contours of the land, the gnarled spiralling tree roots, the impossibly high and twisted tree tops, a landscape you have visited in a dream, that Kraft has, unbeknownst to you, found a way to soundtrack.

BVSMV records never disappoint, and this latest ambient excursion is no exception. The "Other Landscapes" promised in the title and painted vividly in your minds eye by Kraft (how'd he get in there??), all that remains is to close your eyes and float comfortably through them for a while, taking in their dreamy majesty. Also hey! This is volume one! So look forward to the sequel!