I was skeptical when I saw the title of A Setting Sun's new album, expecting it to be an overly conscious nod to doom and drone metal. Instead, Flower Garden of Doom is an ambient experiment that is filled with emotion and quiet drama. There is darkness here, it's true, but it's not morose or sludgy. The airiness of the guitar situated within the electronics, particularly on the track "Raspberry," give it a particularly human stamp. One is not lonely here, but there is certainly a sense of the unknown, and the dread that comes with that. Imagine H.P. Lovecraft writing about childhood and lost memories, lost loves and growing old, instead of ancient gods and arcane cults. And when you least expect it, there is hope and a bit of light cutting across the shadows.
What gives Flower Garden of Doom its strange warmth is that it doesn't rely solely on electronics. Field recordings and guitar make even the more melancholy elements pulse with color. There really isn't any doom here, just an honest reflection on the a particular state of mind, a state that feels relevant and universal, even as it reflects something deeply personal.
And MP3 of the track "Raspberry" is available here as a zip file.
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