North Sea, The – “Bloodlines” – [Type Recordings]

Somber and pretty.
Warm and cold.
Electronic and acoustic.

On North Sea’s 2010 release, “Bloodlines,” there’s a beautiful interplay between seemingly opposing moods, forces, and sounds. Brad Rose is the mastermind behind this project (as well as the Digitalis record label and magazine), and he crafts music that is not only dark and foreboding, but is also pleasant and contemplative. Bells chime, something revs, another thing crackles and a third hovers. If you are looking for genre descriptors, there may be a smidgen of industrial, a dab of dark ambient, and a smattering of noise; but the result is greater than those parts and is not nearly as scary as the influences might suggest. It’s a fascinating melding of electronic and acoustic elements.