Playgrounds: Recess-  Greystar (2024)

Album: Playgrounds: Recess

Artist: Greystar

Release Date: September 6, 2024

Bandcamp: Playgrounds: Recess

What is bliss? We all have our Oxford definition and (as always) your mileage may vary. But for me it’s listening to albums like this. To say this album is an “easy listen” is kind of insulting, but it truly is an easy listen for all the right reasons. For an electronic album that doesn’t feature long, sweeping ambient tracks, this is one of those albums you can listen to and ignore for a few minutes but then immediately tune back in at any point for some good old fashioned introspection.

Playgrounds: Recess features a number of remixes that meld together perfectly with the album’s whimsical tone, but of course it’s an original track (Into the Vortex) that binds this albums tone together. Into The Vortex is the gateway to bliss – after that, this albums invites you to the party. Lots of playful vibes like Webkinz Jump Rope and Diality (Heavy Mix). But really I feel like this album is a love letter to IDM fans who just want to have fun and vibe. The artist describes this album as ” … completely new ideas that illustrate a colorful world of low poly shapes in an endless void” and I couldn’t agree more. It sounds vague until you listen to the album. It’s an endless void of satisfying poly shapes.

The standout tracks for me are Rofast (Med’s Slowfast Mix) & Rofast (Med’s Slowfast Ambient Version) – just the purest of the pure when it comes to IDM and ambient. And that’s what’s so blissful about this album – it’s not afraid to go off an atmospheric side road from time to time.

This is another standout album from Greystar. Highly recommend.