Retro-review: ‘Dreamt about Dreaming’ by Lull

Mick Harris was a busy guy in the early 90s. Not only did he perform one last album with Napalm Death, but he also went on to found a new musical project in Scorn. At the same time that he was working on Scorn, he also had another project, the dark ambient sound-making machine known as Lull.

That’s right, ambient music. Almost a different planet than the grindcore of Napalm Death — or is it?

When it comes to ambient music, you feel more than you hear. The sounds are not obvious, but it’s used to paint a picture in your head.

At least that’s what I think it’s supposed to do.

The official Wikipedia definition for ambient music is “a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. Ambient music is said to evoke an ‘atmospheric,’ “visual” or ‘unobtrusive’ quality.”

So, I guess I’m not too far off.

Harris was one of the early members of the Isolationist movement, which is pretty much what is known as dark ambience. With Lull, he forsook common song elements to concentrate on bringing listeners a picture painted with sounds. And it a lot of ways, Lull’s first album feels like a walk through several blue-toned portraits of scenes while the paint is still wet.