Bliss Beam - ​Doodles

Bliss Beam

​Doodles
self-released; 2017

​3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Bliss Beam started as a one-man psychedelic rock project by Nik Fosses. Apparently the project is growing with more members. He did release an album entitled Doodles which feels like a bedroom project.

​For the most part Doodles is ambient music with tones and textures. The album is  lo-fi which works on occasion and fails on others. Certain songs like “To The One That I Adore,” have so many piercing high frequencies that my ears were ringing at low volumes. In fact since Fosses is producing his own music I’d recommend experimenting which frequencies in low mids and using a filter to get rid of harsh frequencies around the 8k range and up.

Even when Fosses does sing it feels quite sporadic. Suffice it to say you won’t find many hooks here. Fosses has some success on a song like “Sun Will Shine Tomorrow” which has a slight Ariel Pink feel. His vocals are way in the background and serve as a pad rather than a lead.

“Falling Deeper In Love Every Day”  is a mix of white noise, haze and beats that mix into a dreamy haze that will probably work best if you are in an altered state of mind. Other songs like “Mellow Candy” come off as hyper and zany. His vocals are manipulated basically beyond recognition. 

Fosses' music could garner comparisons to bands like Tame Impala and Ariel Pink but he prefers to indulge in atmosphere. I think it might do him a little good to consider where he wants to go. If he wants to explore more song-based music there is going to have to be more transitions, dynamics, melody and most importantly a focal point. If he wants to explore ambience in the spirit of Auburn Lull or Windy & Carl I think he should embrace it and go full on atmospheric. I felt he was somewhere in the middle. 

Fosses is on to something. I am excited to hear the dynamics other members will bring to the project.

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