Hertz, Jack – “Mechanics of Blue” – [Aural Films]

mickeyslim   1/19/2021   A Library, CD

Off of the Aural Films online record label that makes soundtracks to movies that don’t exist, comes this release from Jack Hertz. In the liner notes, Hertz writes that Mechanics of Blue “reflects on the industry of unhappiness (…) entities that design products to make us feel afraid, unattractive, or unwanted. Cloaked in commerce. Branding, deception, fear, propaganda, gamification, subversion, trust, social engineering and other methods are exploited to get us to do what we do not want”

Myriad of different sounds meticulously put together, crunching, grinding, deep blue guitar twangs, wings flapping, voices in the background, synth waves, abstract wisps, and much more. Sometimes beat-driven, sometimes ambient-driven. 

The songs create tiny worlds within the mix. Some tracks feel like being underwater like you’re a mermaid, other times you’re floating above the rings of Saturn, other other times in the thick of an undiscovered, unexplored jungle. 

It’s majestic, like an acid trip where you’re thinking a million things at once and seeing the world for the first time.