Sometimes That Light, That Shine, Seemed Like a Pretty Nice Thing by Umber
Release date: March 17, 2023Label: Subtempo
Nottingham’s Alex Steward, who works under the moniker of Umber is no novice to the music scene, as he’s been releasing his music that can be loosely dubbed as post-ambient since 2011.
That experience can certainly be felt throughout his latest release which bears a very evocative title of Sometimes that light, that shine, seemed like a pretty nice thing, which was actually picked from Stephen King’s novel The Shining.
Yet another thing that can certainly be felt throughout the album is Steward’s emotional involvement with the music presented here, also reflected in his comment on the album – “I try to create music that will emotionally resonate with the listener. Ultimately the album is about finding hope in the smallest actions, something that can often be overlooked or discarded in a world that doesn’t always make a lot of sense.”
Stewart creates the resonance he speaks about through a very delicate balance between acoustic and electronic instruments and the varying tempos he uses throughout.
The emotional element seems to be inspired by his other daily job of being a palliative caregiver for elderly patients, and it is the one that seems to be the cohesive glue that ties the eight tracks here into a very listenable whole.
