Auburn Silhouette is the fourth album by Australian artist Amongst Myselves. Steve Roberts, the man behind the recording name, is a film maker and sound producer by trade so it's only fitting that this release includes a DVD containing three short films set to his music. The natural environment is the theme of this album, with Steve's inspiration coming from the South Australian outback and journeys overseas.

The album is primarily ambient, though there's also drone, shoegazer, experimental, and even a bit of soft rock! Opening the album is my favourite piece “Greybox Shadow” in which drones flow easily like leaves of a tree gracefully shifting in a light breeze. Adding to the natural feel is birdsong at the beginning which made me imagine opening curtains in the morning to see the world waking up for a new day. Gradually the mood becomes more intense and heavier as the drones become deeper and hybrid “ahhh” vocals/drones layer the atmosphere further.

In “Hole in the Sky” the manner of the music changes noticeably into shoegazer territory. Grey and silvery washes ebb and flow with the regular yet subtly different lapping of waves on a beach. Then a slow unobtrusive drum rhythm starts up along with cymbal percussion and aching electric guitar notes that are plucked only to stretch off into the distance.

Sometimes other elements add to the atmosphere, as in “Southern Lights” where tribal drum rhythms beat out against delicate drones and washes gliding over the soundscape like the the ethereal ribbons of colour in the Southern Lights themselves.

A fascinating aspect of several tracks is how electronically created drones feel organic and natural. This is sky music, as ever evolving and hard to pin down as the sky itself where clouds, sunlight, and stars paint shifting pictures and moods. Also, there's a good contrast of earthbound and cosmic experiences and journeys on Auburn Silhouette which I found to be a work that needs deep immersive listening sessions to appreciate fully; and headphones will doubtless bring out even more of the sonic nuances. It's a work that takes ambient impressions of the natural world to a new level.

The accompanying DVD contains three films, each set to music from the track of the same name. There's stunning day and night time-lapse photography in “Up Into the Air and Over Edge”; pictures of nebula, stars, galaxies etc in “Southern Lights”; and “Star” has some computer generated images. This DVD is a wonderful adjunct to the CD.

Dene Bebbington - Melliflua - http://www.melliflua.com