ALBUM REVIEW: Hirschbrunnen – Delving

Nick DiSalvo of stoner band ELDER emerges with the first album from his solo project, DELVING. Hirschbrunnen is an album which draws from the earliest years of electronic music production, as well as 70s prog rock and jazz. This melting pot of styles is impressive to namecheck, but does he pull it off?

To answer that simply; yes. Yes he does, for the most part. This is a fantastic instrumental album which makes use of a really wide and interesting variety of textures and sounds, pulling it all together into something which sounds like the kind of video game soundtrack which might distract you from your game for being too good. 

The production is particularly impressive; no part ever feels out of place or tacked-on last minute. Specifically, the basslines on this album reliably steal the show and fill out the sound beautifully. Contrasting with some sky-high guitar harmonics and synth work, each song sounds like it could fit right in at a stadium gig or through your headphones at home. It’s all pinned down by some incredibly classy drumming and a driving force which keeps the album’s momentum moving forward.

Whilst it’s certainly not the best or most inventive instrumental album out there, this is still a truly commendable effort from DiSalvo, and proves he is a master of all trades – from stoner rock to psych prog and beyond. Each track individually is a brilliant piece of instrumentation. However, it’s really held back by falling into some of the trappings of the genre. The songs are long and varied, yes, but the album as a whole is in need of a few more obvious dynamic changes to give the overall album a little more shape. 

By Vast, the final track, the album seems a little tired and to be rehashing some old ground. It would have been nice to see the ideas culminate into something that sounded a little more intentional. As a whole, this is a really great listen, but one gets the feeling that this album wouldn’t sound that different if you played it on shuffle. There’s a real lack of narrative. A good attempt was made, though, and Hirschbrunnen proves to be an enjoyable listen.

Rating: 7/10

Hirschbrunnen is out now via Stickman Records.

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