Liminal Garden - Dolphin Midwives (2019)

Dolphin Midwives, aka Portland-based harpist Sage Fisher, uses her voice and harp and other similar instruments as the base for sometimes lovely, sometimes grating ambient soundscapes.

The tracks that let the original instruments shine through most clearly are the best, imo. The more treated and chopped tracks, like Flux, quickly get on my nerves. It does add a good amount of texture to what might otherwise be forgettablly smooth ambient music.

The tone gets dark occasionally, like on Temple V where it sounds like some sort of cthonic incantation. But it’s offset by tracks like Mirror, a gorgeous and ethereal cloud.