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Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Jason Youth’s “Shadow Valley” unfolds in a cinematic vision of creeping fear, using subtly interwoven synth and atmospheric composition to draw the listener into a story full of shadows and sinister things waiting to come out of the darkness and strike.
Rather than relying on over-the-top sounds, Jason Youth has chosen a more nuanced palette that is nonetheless terrifying. The very restrained nature of the soundscape enhances the emotional weight of this music and carries me further into it with each track.
Intelligently chosen synths result in “Shadow Valley” having a very clear mood and set of images that create continuity and add to the expanding feelings of dread that spread outward. Jason Youth takes each of his sounds and combines them to superb effect in creating an atmosphere of foreboding and horror.
Storytelling is another aspect of “Shadow Valley” which I find enjoyable. Without using lyrics, the artist manages to convey the action that occurs and summons a sense of filmmaking with the approach it takes. I enjoy the sensations that are created by his way of writing music and find myself immersed more deeply in the tale as it unfolds.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
“Shadow Valley” creates breathless anticipation and a rising feeling of creeping evil as the arpeggios revolving slow motion, the background twisting with disturbing sensations as the hypnotic motion draws me in and the slowly trembling sounds fill the track with foreboding and a feeling of hanging on a precipice before the shadowing notes in the distance vibrate and fade.
Like a haunted calliope, breathy notes shiver to bring “Circus” to life as children laugh in a distinctly unsettling way and the calliope evokes the approach of awful things as a sinister laugh chuckles and the elevated notes send goosebumps running up and down my spine. Breezy sounds sigh and the compulsion to look behind me becomes almost irresistible. Uncomfortable tones wriggle with lurking horror as chiming notes add a touch of creepy feeling before silence falls.
“The Clown" erupts with angular synth and the terrifying laughter of a monstrous clown as the beat slams in dominating lines and the dancing notes have a disturbing feeling as wobbling tones descend and a raging beat savages the music.
The dynamism and sharp edges of the theme cut cleanly while the unsettling notes tremble above the heaviness below. Otherworldly sounds shiver and the beat grows lighter before slamming in again, joining the lacerating synth melody as the wicked laughter echoes again and the track ends.
With menacing slowness, synth notes rise and the drum beat adds to the ominous sensation as “The Stalker Part 1” grows with ever intensifying threat. Blinding arpeggios slowly spin, galactic arms extending as the feelings of a threat becoming real grow and grow above the chugging beats.
Despite the radiance of the arpeggios, the light they cast is full of terrifying import, adding to my feelings of fright above the heavy rhythm. The cascading tones have a feverish brilliance, a sense of something awful nearby. Each twirling pattern interlocks with the heaving under layer to form propulsive motion. Distant strings create cinematic, orchestral feelings before the music stops.
“The Stalker Part 2” has an accelerative speed as an elevated synth is joined by a sax like sound that spins out with engaging, but undoubtedly dangerous energy has the low end throbs. The background spills warmer light while the classically-inflected melody is melancholy and gives me a sensation of continually being watched. The rich synth evokes the mood of an instrument that surges with emotion before silence falls.
A hungry howl shivers the bones as “Wereman” churns into life with rapidly pattering beats like the paws of a wolf and a slowly drifting notes pattern as a storm rumbles in the distance. Vague premonitions of hungry eyes and deep growls add to the sense of something approaching in the night with malicious intent. A predatory creeping quality permeates the music as a terrible laugh echoes and pan pipes breathe out while the acceleration of soft feet rushing forward presages a deadly attack.
“Erin's Choice” is pierced by an entangled synth that tumbles in a slowly unfolding, glowing motion as the soft wind barely brushes and reverberant percussion shivers out into open space. An impression of melancholy is tinged by a high note that wobbles and fades while the main theme encapsulates peaceful, mournful emotion and the track breathes with a web of fragility.
Distant drums flutter and far-away, spectral sounds move like shreds of mist across the landscape. Moody contemplation permeates me as the music subtly drifts and night sounds wander before the main melody evokes deliberative decision-making and the chittering noises add an unsettling character.
Behind the other sounds, gauzy tones roam and call to mind something full of sadness and blacker emotion. The intertwining synth vibrates and conjures up a moment of pause after a night full of fear. An air of calm with perhaps a hint of resigned feeling fills the track as the bright sounds cascade. A sense of resolution steals through the track and carries on before it ends.
As the red and orange glow opens “Dawnbreak,” a feeling of release touches the track, letting me relax as I realize the terrible night has ended. The tragedy that has unfolded leaves its mark, but over it all, the sun begins to cast nurturing light and lift the track above the dying darkness before everything grows still.
Conclusion
“Shadow Valley” is a voyage into a night full of awfulness and never-ending danger that ultimately creates a fulfilling soundscape. The way in which Jason Youth approaches this music is interesting and makes me want to learn more about his compositions.
