400 LONELY THINGS - CREATURE COMFORTS / WHY I WENT TO THE WOODS


Maybe I should start with a warning: these two releases (2 x 2CD) present no less than 5 hours (+ 9 minutes) of soundscapes that may be experienced as rather heavy psychedelic trips. This is not an "average" project in any way, which is probably also why it is such a rewarding listen.


These two double-albums are available separately, but it's advisable to check them out both. In the words of Craig '400 Lonely Things' Varian: "these albums are opposite sides of the same coin, which is why they are being released in tandem. The coin being, in this analogy, the 2024 National Election in the US and its place in the world's entropic trajectory, and my own emotions in the time since."


Creature Comforts first came to life on the night of November 4th (2024), as the election results were coming in, and was finished in March 2025. These 'lullabies for the end of the world' were created using soothing vocal samples that were placed in 'hypnotic audio beds and simple melodies.' The resulting music, though more melodic perhaps, is not unlike the haunting otherworldy sample-collages of The Caretaker.
"I found myself craving lullabies, but ugly and reflective ones, that saw the world with an acute sense of horror and bewilderment and bereavement. These songs would be ugly on the surface, sad and angry and defeated and more than a little unhinged, but hopefully have a heart that would show through the scarring."





 


Making Why I Went To The Woods served a different purpose. Traditionally, the woods are the place to go if you want to clear your head. That's what Craig Varian intended to do with these recordings, which were made between April and September 2025, directly after finishing Creature Comforts.


Compared to Creature Comforts, the music on Why I Went To The Woods is more like a warm sonic bath filled with "rustic pieces of psychedelic folk, 70's analog synthscapes, schmaltzy vintage British TV music and rural ambience. Music that would be suitable for all woodland creatures and ethereal beings of the melancholy forest." It may sound friendlier, less nightmar-ish, but it definitely still is as hypnotic/psychedelic as its counterpart.





 


"Dark New Age for the New Dark Age". That's about the most appropriate description you can think of.


Creature Comforts and Why I Went To The Woods are released by Cold Spring Records. Each album is available as 2-CD and digital, but a (slightly cheaper) bundled set is also available.


Creature Comforts (CSR360CD) by 400 Lonely Things


Why I Went To The Woods (CSR361CD) by 400 Lonely Things

--- originally published on Ambientblog ---

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