GENRE; Electronic
LABEL; Leaf
RATING; 7.2
Sidings, the latest full‑length release from UK electronic producer Craven Faults, is a mesmerizing synthesis of analog modular craftsmanship and expansive ambient storytelling. Released on 23 January 2026 through The Leaf Label, this double LP continues the artist’s exploration of texture, place, and time, rooted in the post‑industrial landscapes of northern England.
What sets Sidings apart is its meditative patience and cinematic depth. Across its eight tracks, Craven Faults weaves longform compositions that unfold slowly, inviting listeners to become lost in layers of drone, rhythmic patterns, and subtle tonal shifts rather than conventional hooks or song structures. The opener “Ganger,” nearly 16 minutes long, introduces a steady pulse and cascading synth motifs that feel both propulsive and reflective, while “Stoneyman” deepens this immersive experience with evolving textures that seem to bend time itself.
https://open.spotify.com/album/695Gyo5skYqqiaRqdQxQ3q
Critics have praised the album for its immediacy relative to earlier works—not because it swings toward pop sensibilities, but because its rhythmic and melodic elements are slightly more pronounced, making the sprawling soundscapes stick in the mind longer. One review rated the record highly, noting it as perhaps the most memorable entry in Craven Faults’s catalogue to date.
The album’s thematic cohesion emerges from its conceptual ties to railways, landscapes, and history, using track titles and sonic textures to evoke journeys across moors, relics of industry, and half‑remembered places. This gives Sidings a haunting narrative quality, like tuning into distant memories shaped by geography and time.
For fans of ambient, kosmische, and atmospheric electronic music, Sidings rewards active listening and patience—an album that reveals more with each spin, like a landscape slowly appearing through morning mist.