Review: The Void Wanderer - Life Is Exhausting

Artist: The Void Wanderer

Album: Life Is Exhausting

Label: Cryo Chamber

Release date: September 2025

There has always been an inherent escapism to dark ambient, which is perhaps to be expected from a genre that does away with so many conventional features and elements of what people tend to call music. It takes a specifically attuned mind to be able to disconnect from the sensory overload of everyday life and search for stimuli in a minimalist sound form. That said, there has been a recent crop of dark ambient artists that engage in focusing on that escapism specifically while adding a distinct tinge of melancholy and nostalgia to it, and Cryo Chamber seems to be particularly good at sniffing out the cream of that crop, first in the form of Underwater Sleep Orchestra, whose latest album I reviewed a few months ago, but also through another equally fascinating project called The Void Wanderer, who have recently released their sophomore album on the label as a follow-up to last year's Empty World.

The statement of intent is even clearer this time around - life is exhausting, and The Void Wanderer's mission is to offer a pensive retreat from it, one that is not just comforting, but also a reminder that there is a beautiful undercurrent to our earthly existence that we tend to forget when focused on our everyday worries. A look at the wonderful cover art indicates as much - a rustic, oriental-looking window with a maze-like pattern that opens to reveal a beautiful, misty mountain landscape, perfectly reflecting the music featured on the album, which consists mostly of soft, warm and enveloping synth drones, with a subtle smattering of ethereal melodies, misty bass rumbles and crackling atmospherics that give the sound its depth and poignance. As the album progresses, and the mind of the isolated subject wanders deeper into itself, the music adapts accordingly and becomes less externally-focused and more introspective in a way, which is particularly noticeable on tracks such as Isolation Pt. 2 and Never Cry, which eschew some of the grandiosity of the first couple of tracks and exchange them for depth. As layer after layer is stripped, the album reaches its nadir (or zenith, depending on the perspective) in the relatively minimal, but beautiful Watch Me Fade Away, whose subtle piano-like melody and rainy background bring out the naked emotional conclusion of this melancholic inward journey, whatever that conclusion may be.

While not breaking much new ground in musical terms, The Void Wanderer manages to pull off that rare feat of offering an album that is approachable but not light, relatable but not banal, emotional but not manipulative, nostalgic but not depressive. It's wonderful company for rainy autumn afternoons, but just as suitable for any occasion where one has the luxury of retreating into oneself and leaving the external world aside for a brief moment. That alone, together with the sheer quality of musicianship and execution, is enough to recommend it without any reservations.

Rating: 8/10