7. Eluvium - Zerthis was a Shimmering Human Image If one ever needed proof that music needn’t be glittery, stylish, or saccharin to be appealing, it wouldn’t be hard to eventually find. But if one needed proof that it was possible to rid a piece of all signs of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic complexity, strip it down to the most fundamental structure of sound, and then go on to achieve not mere appeal, but rather a state of mesmerizing entrancement that borders sonic nirvana, then Eluvium’s “Zerthis was a Shimmering Human Image” is as close a proof as we’ll ever find. Constructed by a loop of two chords lasting an almost perpetual-feeling fifteen minutes, “Zerthis” has the listener at its mercy purely by virtue of its enormous hypnotic capacity. Brainchild Matthew Cooper wields a remarkable command over the tonal and dynamic controls of this piece, utilizing brutal, elongated textures to overwhelm the looped melodic intervention with a tsunami of drone. The end result is a beautiful, strangely comforting meditative experience. (Mac Nguyen)