STRFKR’s sound has morphed over the years through variations of hyper catchy- danceable pop but this is something very different. For a little shy of an hour Ambient 1 drifts through softly glowing electronic instrumentals that extract the synth core from the group’s well-established synth-pop sound. It’s patient playful and calming music that travels through passageways of chaos and anxiety on a journey towards healing. - - In some ways Ambient 1 is unlike anything STRFKR has created before but when completely absorbed it makes sense why it’s included under the STRFKR banner. Even at his most drony and experimental Hodges can’t escape his distinctive melodic approach. There are no vocals no traditional song structures almost nothing resembling the addictive pop the band is known for but deep listening reveals a more deconstructed manifestation of STRFKR’s meticulously crafted sound. Ambient 1 strips away the familiar and the expected exposing Hodges’ signature sonic personality at a granular level. - - As the band continues already more than a decade into their winding development Ambient 1 represents an extension of what STRFKR is capable of. Hodges' slow-blooming soundscapes and transcendent webs of synth and percussion might be some of the most unassuming circuitous music he’s ever made but it's also some of his most vulnerable work. The songs guide the listener through complex emotional territory ultimately reaching a place of peace and beauty. Like some of the best ambient music the feelings conveyed are all the more intense when they’re communicated without words. - - 1. Rainzow (2:27) - 2. Work Smoothly Lifetime Peace (6:49) - 3. Bunji (3:36) - 4. Kaleidoscope (3:48) - 5. Telescope (3:1) - 6. Anxiety (5:59) - 7. Zee Majoor (3:2) - 8. Concentrate (6:59) - 9. Vergeten (1:29) - 10. Nexus (7:37) - 11. Zij Aan Zij (6:31) - 12. Sleep (4:40)