Lusine - Melting Days (2026)

Harking back to the vertiginous ambient sound of 2007's 'Language Barrier', Jeff McIlwain references Steve Reich and Susumu Yokota on his tenth album - his most cinematic, emotional project yet.

It makes sense somehow that after penning the poppy 'Long Light', McIlwain needed to walk in the opposite direction. Because the Lusine project has never just been one thing; since its beginnings in the late '90s, McIlwain has used the name to release choppy IDM, sturdy trip-hop, reductionist techno and placid ambient biz. Like 'Language Barrier', 'Melting Days' developed from film score work, and you can almost see the visuals on opener 'Sightline'. McIlwain uses the word "ambient" carefully; sure, the music is pegged to its washing, slow-motion pad sounds and submerged, brassy drones, but it's not entirely beatless. Here, McIlwain lets a molasses slow, almost inaudible kick do most of the heavy lifting, while a double-time click stands in for the hi-hat. On 'Bird's Eye', meanwhile, metallic hits flutter around the eroded central rhythm while McIlwain muffles his pads in the deep background.

He builds momentum on 'Pendulum' by waking up his deep, dubby soundscape with womping subs and wintery hits and on 'Intruder' curves the remnants of a voice around a skeletal, glitchy beat. McIlwain's idea of ambient music is open and all encompassing - it still belongs in the back room, but it's not just wallpaper.