Eric Holm - Barotrauma (2016)

Talk about art imitating life. Barotrauma is the second album on Subtext from Eric Holm, a commercial diver-turned musician. The title of this long player relates to a type of air pressure-related ear and lung injury that divers suffer from and the music therein is inspired by Holm's own time under water, specifically in the Nordic fijords. Featuring six tracks, the album manages to encapsulate the sense of calm and stillness, through passages of liquid ambience but also the occasional dread that isolation at depth brings. This is most audible on the black, brooding tones of "Enceladus" and the eerie flow of "Nereus Vent". It's a powerful, intense experience.