Audiopile Review: It’s no surprise to learn that Belgian ambient veterans Pablo’s Eye once released an album on the Extreme label, home of ‘90s dark ambient classics from Paul Schütze and Shinjuku Thief. There’s a whole world of this sorta noirish ambient music waiting to be discovered. Ever heard Woob? Fetisch Park? Beequeen? Just you wait. In the meantime, let’s get back to Pablo’s Eye. The best thing about this lot is they’re still going, and still producing fantastic work. And if the obscure references above led you to expect something bleak and industrial, then ‘The Light Was Sharp, Our Eyes Were Open’ is going to be a big and delightful surprise. While it has the cinematic moodiness of the acts mentioned above, it is much closer to the ‘new age post-punk’ of The Durutti Column and prime era 4AD. It’s packed with chiming guitars, glossy synths, IDM-ish beats, and enigmatic spoken vocals. There’s obviously some kind of theme or concept at work here too. We probably overuse the term ‘road movie for the ears’, but this album really fits that description.

A group of friends go sailing and one disappears. The others start
searching for her. But it gradually becomes apparent that she won’t
be found. So the friends return home one by one. Only the missing
girl’s lover and her best friend remain.They have begun an affair.
As the lovers come together the girl’s disappearance is all but
forgotten.

From Michelangelo Antonioni — “Auteur of eerie angst”
(L’Avventura) by Richard Skinner from Vade Mecum Essays,
Reviews & Interviews (Zero books, 2015).