Audiopile Review: Following a quiet 2023, 3XL’s opening salvo for 2024 is a sprawling 2xLP album from Naemi (formerly Exael) and features a jaw-dropping guest list, including Huerco S, Pontiac Streator, Perila, Ulla, Ben Bondy, Erika De Casier, and former Vancouverite NAP (Daniel Rincon). It’s basically a who’s who of the interconnected web of the ambient underground that we’ve been feverishly tracking for some time now. Considering this unique, unprecedented gathering, expectations were very high before we even got this into our mitts. Naemi does not disappoint. With a particular focus on vocalists across Dust Devil, which isn’t exactly the norm for the scene, Naemi explores the depths previously plumbed by the giants of 4AD (think Cocteaus, This Mortal Coil), updating the vapour-pop of their predecessors with the glassy glitch, blotted breaks and the ASMR soundscaping that has become synonymous within the 3XL/Motion Ward/West Mineral realm. Opening the album and setting the tone is “It Feels So Good”, a dreamy ambient-pop workout with Erika De Casier, perfectly pairing her distinctly soft vocals within a pillowy haze of gaseous ambient tones. Then there’s the shoegaze & trip-hop immersion of “Couch Acid” that teams up Arid Acid and Huerco S, the sweetly sung emo chime of “Day Drifter” with Perila on vocals, and the slow-mo illbient of album standout “Ambrosia”, featuring the narcotic Spanish spoken word of Daniel Rincon. Honestly, too many highlights on what feels like a greatest hits collection from a much cooler universe. One of the year’s best.

“Snapshots of the myriad moods that populate trajectories of one’s most intimate bonds with friends, lovers, the body, the self, and immediate surroundings. Glimpses of providing care for oneself, sparking romance, splintering, daily drama, and embarking through an inner desert.

Intersections at a certain place in time, in softness and compassion.

There is much pain in suspension, much anger in grief.

Seek nourishment—

Wide open space, endless horizon road.”

— Naemi