Nomad EP: Michael Bross Is More Than Just Twangy Guitars and Awesome Ambience (Review)

Okay, I lied. He’s pretty much awesome ambience any way you cut it.

While the only soundtrack release Michael Bross has to his name is Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath (which you should definitely pick up if you haven’t already), that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy writing new music for his fans to enjoy. In fact, he’s been busy writing some pretty fine electronic music in the form of Dogs and Their Stars EP and his latest Nomad EP, both released in 2008.

Find out what the Nomad EP has to offer after the jump. Metroid Prime synths, anyone?

Nomad EP offers a blissful 18+ minutes of cutting edge ambient music, and I can’t help but love it. The opening track, “Simeon,” is my favorite, layered with droning pads, chirping electronics, and a repetitive yet mesmerizing melody with lots of reverb and delay, creating a dream-like atmosphere.

The next track, “Countryside,” is an eight minute journey into madness with grating sound effects alongside a gusty pad that simulates the wind. Later, A droning bass comes in along with an awesome phasing synth that I recognize from Metroid Prime. While I’ll admit it’s not the most musical track, it definitely is a great mood-setting piece if you’re into ambient music. Things get moving a little more towards the end with electronic percussion and thumping bass to stir things up a bit.

“Nacimiento Road,” is the closing piece with a jazzy, drawn out and distorted electric piano sound that serves up some unsettling dissonance with occasional ascending synthesizer bits. The bass wanders along, sounding lost, which is the prevailing mood here.

A fan of Michael Bross? I think you should be between his work on Stranger’s Wrath and his electronic offerings on his website. We recently pointed out the amazing deal you can get on Stranger’s Wrath, and equally so, you can download the Nomad EP in a digital format for $2.10 from Bross’s website, or you can get a physical CD along with access to the mp3s for $6.99. If you’re into ambient music, it’s definitely worth your consideration.

I know there are some fans of Michael Bross out there. Have you given his electronic music a try? Has he convinced you that he’s got more to offer than his country western image?