Wingard, Adam: Past Life Regression LP

Who were you in a past life? Many have thought about this. Director Adam Wingard (THE GUEST, YOU’RE NEXT, DEATH NOTE) went further: He ventured into a deep hypnotic state to get answers and afterward created the inventive and aptly titled PAST LIFE REGRESSION. He uses an innovative electronic blend of cinematic and ambient that he brought to work like his BLAIR WITCH score. Still, this time the deeply personal nature of the project adds a new layer of transcendence. You feel like he’s scoring your own past life regression journey. It opens with “The Beach,” a sun-drenched splash of beautiful dissonance, pairing digitally scrambled electronics and soothing but portentous tides. You are now entranced, seeing a doorway with a deep-black pull into forgotten lives. Once you enter the door over a sea of drones, you make your way through a rich and melodic tapestry of nuanced synth-scapes. The occasional burst of propulsive rhythms maintains momentum through each successive concentric circle of discovery. By the time you hit the ominous meditations of “The Ladder Down,” the Vangelis vibes of “Deeper Recall,” and the resolute closer “Relive,” you’ve witnessed your unfamiliar but eerily recognizable lives pass you by. And then, soon, you’ll go back to the beginning and do it all over again.