The Saddest Story

Eluvium’s the nom de plume of a Portland, Oregon cat named Matthew Cooper, who writes & plays ambient music that’s sometimes electronic & sometimes symphonic. However, if I told you that Matthew Cooper was a mad-genius neurochemist who’s won the Nobel Prize for distilling human melancholy & regret into three minutes of sad perfect sound, I bet you’d believe it after hearing this. And who could blame you?

• Eluvium, “Amreik” (buy here)

To me the heavy washes suggest weary resignation, while the lighter undermelody suggests something else, some mix of bewilderment & stubborn hope. But I suspect this one’s a real Rorschach test, pulling something different out of every person.

The album is new, Copia, and it’s quite lovely, though to be honest there’s nothing else on it with the emotional pull that this song has. I just wish the damn thing was longer. A lot longer. In general I’m of the belief that a song I like for three minutes I would love for 10, and if I love it for three I would really love it for 15. Oh well, that’s what the repeat button is for.

My thanks to the good dude at Penguin Music for selling me on this one.