Structures From Silence – Steve Roach (1984) – Album Review

For me, Structures From Silence is an artifact from another timeline. Which makes my personal experience interesting, because I actually remember the first time I heard this album. I was sleeping on the worlds most uncomfortable couch and I was just so happy to be there, surrounded by likeminded people and the stale perfume of Nongshim Ramen and whatever thrift-store fabric the couch was patched up with; but I was most certainly not on another timeline.

I was exactly where I wanted to be. Some wonderful human being uploaded Steve Roach‘s discography to a torrent site and I can still remember how much space this particular album took up on my hard drive: almost 140MB – massive, sacred digital real estate for the time. So worth it. But the feeling I get from this album, is that it’s a strange relic that hums with the ache of a world I never lived in but somehow can feel with great clarity. This album drips your mind of twine in candle wax, engulfing you in warmth while you yearn for a past that never belonged to you.

Across three long compositions, the album traces the delicate movement between awareness and dissolution. The music evokes the residue of memory without true reference. It feels like hearing the faint frequency of a place you might have known in another life. The textures are elemental, belonging to the liminal space between dream and waking. An artifact smuggled through a wormhole.

Steve Roach built an album that exists outside the reach of trend or genre, radiating quiet power in an era seemingly allergic to reflection. Listening to it now, I can feel that same pull I did years ago, sleeping on that terribly uncomfortable, wonderful couch, while the blue glow of the album cover on my laptop monitor made my face glow. This album is meant to remind you that time isn’t real, comfort is fleeting, and Structures From Silence are one of the few things that ever lasts in this world.

One of the greatest ambient albums ever made.