Rameses III - I Could Not Love You More

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5...according to our Brett on Wed 14 Oct, 2009.

I wonder why Rameses III named themselves after him and not the Rameses before, since he was the greatest Pharoah and everything. Maybe it's because he'll have probably been been a bit reflective and melancholy at having to follow an act like that.. Perfect moods for ambient listening. And maybe I'm just trying to use up a few column inches by vomiting out a load of speculative shite. What I can say for sure is that I Could Not Love You More is a beautiful piece of work that compares very favourably with the best ambient stuff I can remember us getting in in the last year or so, taking things seriously pastoral with floaty drones breathing in and out while pianos, folky guitars and mellotrons either spell out or merely suggest melody over the top. Lovely and soothing, this Type LP isn't going to be around long - especially on the limited orange vinyl we've got in.

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For the last few years, Croydon three-piece Rameses III have been proving to the wider world that there's more to their homeland than dubstep with their deep and original take on ambient music. In that time Daniel Freeman, Spencer Grady and Stephen Lewis have notched up a number of releases for Important Records, Digitalis and of course Type Records, but it is with this latest opus that they truly leave their mark on the faded musical landscape.

'I Could Not Love You More' is a record that reframes their sound, taking their drifting ambience and pastoral folk and sharpening it at every opportunity. You can hear echoes of Takoma in Lewis's delicate acoustic guitar playing, shadows of early 4AD in the shimmering drones and all this is wrapped up in an Eno-esque sense of restraint. It sounds almost as if the pieces were written for the mid 20th century, with sounds coming from electric pianos, Mellotrons and guitars rather than heavy electronic processes. We end up with a warming blur of sound, something far removed from the chatter of zeroes and ones we have become accustomed to.

As the album drifts from beginning to end there is a delicate yet defined narrative, enhanced by the inclusion of subtle field recordings and just the right amount of silence. The tracks lull us forward and send us into a state of nostalgic reminiscence, which is in essence the theme which balances the album. 'I Could Not Love You More' is simply a gorgeous reflection – exactly what it reflects upon is left up to the listeners themselves. Who would have thought the mean streets of South London could produce such beautiful music?

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