A Long Way to Fall

Ulrich Schnauss has never been afraid to embrace the new age side of his sound. Even on the albums like 2007's Goodbye, where he went almost full-on shoegaze with plenty of guitars, there was always a softness to the synth textures, and a gentle touch to the melodies, which were soothing, to say the least. On his 2013 album, A Long Way to Fall, Schnauss has fully embraced the new age aesthetic of creating background music perfect to have on while relaxing. Though there are some guitars on the album, they are muted to the point of invisibility, and the beats that creep in now and then are polite and almost loping. While it makes for pleasant music to have on while you are sleeping away the afternoon in a cubicle or fighting insomnia late at night, the album is something of a letdown for anyone who, not unreasonably, came to it expecting something a little more interesting from Schnauss. Regardless, since there's not that much coming out right now, I still recommend this type of background music. We all can use something to relax to. Buy your copy of Ulrich Schnauss' A Long Way to Fall here.