A newly discovered album that I cannot turn off, Mosquito continues in such a way and for such a timeless duration that it becomes a real musical atmosphere, a sonic backdrop that demands attention unlike any ambient piece I've ever heard, though it is not solely ambient, nor is it jazz; and with moving, fluid changes as subtle as the natural buzzing of insects in a river-like field of saw-grass, it is simply a beautiful, disciplined, genre-flattening piece of music. The review from Forced Exposure:
"Another scorching, hypnotic, ground breaking, concept-expanding release from outstanding Australian trio The Necks. Their last few CDs have caused a huge stir. Hanging Gardens was a shimmering space age journey (fuelled by sparkling high hat patterns and lush piano chords), Aether was a profound meditation (on a chord that just kept on coming), while Drive By was a classic R&B road movie soundtrack. This new double CD re-writes the rules yet again. Mosquito begins with the scrunching sound of a hand drum with hanging rattles being draped over percussion, while a fragmentary high piano melody tinkles in the distance. These two elements persist for the entire hour of the CD, providing a supporting texture for the most gorgeous piano chord sequence you've ever heard, gently coaxed by a ride cymbal. There's a hint of Massive Attack's 'Protection' about these chords, which just repeat in an endless melancholy ecstasy. For Llloyd Swanton Mosquito is 'quite austere, but in a rewarding, refreshing way. I think it's one of the most rigorously minimalist pieces we've ever done.' Austere and rigorous it may be, in terms of its beautifully organised structure and economy of means; but don't be fooled. This record is seriously haunting and sensuous. See Through is another beast entirely. Taking its cue from the ultra minimalist Aether, it counter poses ripe piano chords and splashing cymbals (reminiscent of Alice Coltrane) against long passages of silence. Like Aether the music comes in waves, which suggest a vast scale and an open organic structure. But here the silences demand their own space, and the music operates as part of an environment, into which it constantly retreats and from which it endlessly re-appears."
