Balm by Ill Considered

For fans of Ulla, Still House Plants, 50s lounge jazz, and Lynchian horror, Balm by Ill Considered constructs a smoke-filled room dense with liminal anxiety. Improvised jazz licks ripple into a pool of deep, open bass frequencies, sucking us into a carefully curated world of static darkness. In this dusky world, nothing moves with urgency, and all subtle change comes with a heaping helping of nervous foreboding. We brace ourselves for an impending calamity, wondering suddenly whether we’re alone down here. Passionate instrumental performances drowned in reverb and a constant ringing background contribute to our sense of entrapment, further immersing us in this supposedly relaxing space that now jitters and vibrates with terror. The parties which were once held here have moved on for lack of things to celebrate; the smoke hangs in the air regardless, forcing us to wonder what this room looked like while it functioned as intended.