Eavesdrop Cosmic - Signals

Eavesdrop Cosmic

Signals
​self-released; 2020

4.1 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By Matt Jensen

Eavesdrop Cosmic is the recording project for Brannon Hungness. His most recent album is entitled Signals. He explains “The music on Signals is best heard while using headphones or earbuds. This is headphone music.” I do agree with that statement but think there is a bigger point. This release has a lot of attention to detail and that requires fidelity. I think as long as you have a high quality system you’re listening to, you will notice the details which are important to the experience.

The album opens with “The World Opens” and this song has a darker industrial sort of vibe but more ethereal. I was reminded of the album Blackstar by David Bowie. It was a really strong start. 

“Glowing” is where we get into the part about the headphones. The music feels like a psychedelic swirl of ever moving sound. It definitely will take more than a lot of good listening to appreciate the music fully. You really need to listen actively. It can work as background music but for full effect just listen and perhaps enjoy some tea.

These soundscapes continue to manifest on “Horn from the Mouth.” This is a darker song and it felt like I was exploring underground subterranean passages. The vocals almost feel improvised in a good way. It felt like he was emoting at the proper times.

“Pain (My Pleasure)” starts with a meditative hum that gets almost rudely interrupted by a disorienting and dissonant groove. The music is pushed to the edge on the highlight “Look Around” which is a chaotic and anxiety inducing song that isn’t for the faint of heart. 

That is followed by a metallic and alien sounding interlude of sorts called “Signal” while “Hop Excited” continues to push musical boundaries as well as the term white noise. “Snail’s Trail” is another high point. It's a slower burn that felt like a dark reflection of a past life.

Then we get to the most ambitious track yet called “Elevation.” The song is just over twelve minutes and all I can say is this track is a journey. It’s one of the more ambient tracks and seems to explore the outermost regions of the cosmos. Last up is “Tones” which isn’t a calming, serene landing. The song feels more like your thoughts if you were tumbling back to earth on a rocket that was seriously falling apart.

This is an album where I could write a short novel on all the details. I’m not going to do that but I encourage you to explore all the details. Recommended.

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