Since the release of his debut album in 2021, electronic musician To The Stars We Return has been at the forefront of creating innovative and emotionally moving music.
His sophomore album “Lonely Astronaut: Beyond the Cosmic Horizon” is a beautiful and introspective journey that’s way more than the usual experience related to electronic music.
But what does “being more” mean?
Well: this music has power, a very strong and impactful power, which I’m going to explain in the next section of the review.
Lonely Astronaut: Beyond the cosmic horizon - Luca's Take
I seriously believe that this is the most powerful musical artwork I’ve heard in a long time.
It’s definitely electronic but it’s also cinematic, with synthetic sounds blended perfectly with the orchestral ones, creating an extremely interesting atmosphere with melodic textures that are perfect for a sci-fi adventure in the vastness of space.
It may not contain lyrics, its message might now be clear to all and it can just seem like a strange blend of electronic music and cinematic scoring, but according to my personal experience, it has the power of getting whatever it is that you’re feeling, and amplify it, as the title says, “beyond the cosmic horizon”.
Ok: this may not be the album you’ll want to listen to feel happy vibes, but as far as every other emotion goes, that is the effect.
Are you relaxed? The album will relax you even more.
Feeling reflective? This music will make you think about the meaning of life and your existence in the universe even more.
Depressed perhaps? You’ll start resonating with the tracks and probably feel even more melancholic.
I’d be extremely interested in knowing if “Lonely Astronaut: Beyond the Cosmic Horizon” had the same effect on you as it did on me, give it a listen and then let me know in the comments below!
Luca's Favourite Track in Beyond The Cosmic Horizon
My favorite track in the album is “In The End It’s All Stardust.”
It’s lush and relaxing while emitting a great sense of “accomplishment”.
The perfect vibe to end an epic emotional journey.
I feel like “In The End It’s All Stardust” should be the soundtrack to everyone’s end of a hard day of work: sit down, have a drink, have this track playing in the background and just dive in the vibes, letting the notes transport your consciousness into a new reality, made up of your best dreams.
Lonely Astronaut: Beyond The Cosmic Horizon - Alex's Take
This album goes beyond the cosmic imaginery.
All the tracks aim, is to stimulate visions of the space we often see in photos or movies, and as I listened, my mind took those visions and turned them into reality.
The wonder, calmness, and anxiety, all these emotions that some songs are able to generate, increase the perception of the unknown and of being alone in facing it. Like if I was the astronaut, left alone to explore space, facing unknown challenges and enemies.
It’s terrifying but stunning.
I didn’t feel this kind of sensation even as I watched 3D movies at the cinema, and that speaks to the quality of To The Stars We Return beautiful work.
ALEX'S FAVOURITE TRACKS IN Beyond The Cosmic Horizon:
Conclusions
As said at the beginning, The Lonely Astronaut: Beyond the Cosmic Horizon, has power: the power of amplifying emotions.
Finding yourself in front of such a work of art, managing to shake your inner world so hard without relying on fireworks and impacts is extremely rare and really shows the level of skill of an artist such as To The Stars We Return. and we can’t recommend giving this a buy enough.
One thing we’re absolutely sure of is that if you add this to your music library, there’ll come a time in your life when you’ll be grateful for having just the right tunes for your emotions to vibe to.
Remember: Art Can Be More!
Luca and Alex
