Rock/Review WØLZT - Tapes from the Maze

WØLZT is a solo artist from the French Alps. Always in search of a singular sonic experience with his moody, introspective productions. He now invites us to follow him through the twists and turns of Tapes From The Maze, a three-part instrumental album. For this third opus, he dropped the vocals and created what he calls hypnagogic rock. It's a musical journey—an adventure to be explored with your eyes closed. The listener is more like a passenger here.

With its three-part instrumental work, “Tapes from the Maze” by WØLZT transports listeners on a complex, ambient trip that is full of varying soundscapes and slow build-ups. This is not your typical music; rather, it's an immersive experience that calls for attentive, patient listening. Each track develops gradually, engrossing listeners in a sonic universe where deliberate, intermittent guitar riffs complement ambient sounds, producing a mesmerizing effect that verges on "hypnagogic rock."

The album transports the listener on a cinematic adventure by playing with perspective. A tale develops with each track, according to a slow-moving but evocative format that mimics the leisurely pacing of a movie. As recurrent musical motifs and mood swings imply a script-like journey through various settings—spatial landscapes and untamed terrains—leading toward an enigmatic yet strangely familiar destination, the movements throughout “Tapes from the Maze” are purposefully unexpected yet related.

For those who are eager to appreciate its subtleties, WØLZT's record is both difficult and rewarding. The work presents a contemplative experience where the listener can stray between sensations of wonder and reflection, blurring the boundaries between ambient, rock, and experimental soundscapes. It is preferable to take this voyage with your eyes closed so that the music can conjure up images in your head. In the end, “Tapes from the Maze” is a deliberate investigation of tone and story through sound, a compilation of recordings that resembles a musical journey more than an album, eagerly awaiting discovery.