“Beneath the Current” by Drifting in Silence

Where Waves Begin to Collide is the twentieth album from Drifting in Silence, the long-running ambient/post-rock project by North Carolina’s Derrick Stembridge. With all of that music under his belt, you’d think that Stembridge’s production skills ought to be well-nigh immaculate by now — and that’s precisely the case on “Beneath the Current,” one of the album’s true highlights.

Stembridge’s brooding soundscapes are immediately compelling from the very first drone, and the haunting female vocals only add to the effect as she sings “Slowly moving inward/Not forward/Not away” over subtle notes and melodies. The song seems to exist within shadow for its entirety, and it’s equal parts alluring and ominous in a manner reminiscent of Demen’s 2017 masterpiece, Nektyr.

I’ve been meaning to write about Drifting in Silence for awhile now, but with his latest album and songs like “Beneath the Current,” I couldn’t put it off any longer. This is superb work from an artist who’s been refining their craft for two decades now.

Where Waves Begin to Collide is currently available on Labile Records.