There's a strain of ambient music that PPM (the label run by Dean Spunt of No Age) does particularly well. It's a kind of grungy, homemade feeling of warmth and calm. Like there was a lot of grit and sweat put into each track, even if the final product is soothing. Earn's album A Following Shadow follows in that tradition, cascading washes of sound across its seven tracks. But it never sounds overly manufactured or insultingly simple, instead it feels like a complex, belabored piece of art. Even "Living Daylight," the harshest, most noisy track here comes off as hypnotically soothing. A Following Shadow is a gorgeous record, worth plenty of repeat listens. There's no need to give it your full attention though, it'll worm its way in there anyway.
