New Emptiness

Richard Youngs is undoubtedly prolific – he’d have to be approaching 200 albums by now, or maybe he’s even surpassed that number, if you include his various collaborations – but that’s because Youngs is tirelessly inquisitive. Some of his most interesting work crops up on his own Bandcamp, or on smaller labels, like this one, which was released by Fourth Dimension, a label Youngs has worked with since the nineties. It explores loops, which might seem fairly by-the-by, but little about it is predictable. There are huge, eviscerated landscapes for urban gamelan; Fripp-esque flutterings of guitar; pulses threaded through textural overload; and towards the end, Youngs’s keening voice joins the fray. Few artists can respond to quote-unquote intellectual or conceptual prompts and make the music feel so emotionally involving.