7/10

There are albums you listen to, and then there are albums you move through. 'Wandering' by illo.trio firmly belongs in the latter category, offering up a restless, shape-shifting body of work that feels like a series of open doors.

From the outset, 'Wandering' establishes itself as an album in motion. Each piece feels like a chapter in an unfolding travelogue, where scenes change without warning and familiar ground is constantly being reimagined. One moment you’re drawn into cinematic tension, the next you’re suspended in something fragile and almost weightless. Nothing stays still for long, and that’s precisely the point.

What makes this record so compelling is the trio’s ability to balance precision with curiosity. There’s a strong sense of craft underpinning every passage, yet the music never feels boxed in. Acoustic elements act as a grounding force, but they’re repeatedly stretched, bent, and refracted through electronic colour and textural experimentation. The result is music that feels tactile and immersive, as if sound itself is being examined from multiple angles.

Stylistically, 'Wandering' resists easy categorisation. It draws on the emotional pull of jazz storytelling while flirting with vintage synth atmospheres, spectral psychedelia, and moments of hushed, chamber-like intimacy. Rather than blending these influences into a uniform palette, illo.trio allows contrasts to coexist. Clean lines brush up against distortion, and restraint gives way to eruption. The tension between these extremes is where the album truly comes alive.

The album cover also features a striking photograph taken in Elbrus by Alexander Murzakov, capturing a rare and otherworldly lenticular cloud formation. Suspended in the sky like a surreal, sculpted wave, the cloud evokes a sense of stillness and awe with its smooth, layered contours echoing the themes of atmosphere, elevation, and transcendence that run through the album.

Crucially, 'Wandering' never feels like experimentation for its own sake. Every detour serves the emotional arc, reinforcing the idea of exploration as something full of doubt, wonder, and sudden clarity.

By the time the final moments arrive, you’re left with the feeling of having travelled far without ever needing a map. 'Wandering' is bold, curious, and quietly expansive, a record that rewards patience and invites repeat visits, each one revealing a new path you hadn’t noticed before.