The second release on the small Lidar Productions label, the debut album from the Bersarin Quartet mixes string orchestration (as one might expect) with electronic beats and lush programming. Apparently just the work of one semi-mysterious fellow named Thomas (and not a true quartet), the ten songs and just under an hour of work on this self-titled release calls to mind the work of artists like Marsen Jules and others who make sixteen strings an active component of their sound.

"Oktober" opens the release, and falls into that endlessly evolving category of music for imaginary films. Dramatic string sweeps build up slowly before some clomping beats enter the mix and soft synths accent the melodies. It's lush and grand without being overly dramatic, which is something that can be said for the album as a whole. The gorgeous "St. Petersburg" is another standout, with some repeated piano refrains that reverberate through filtered clouds of strings before some jittery percussion jumps into the mix and adds a bit of tension without ever really locking into a real groove.

In other places, strings are nearly completely absent, and Bersarin Quartet drifts into the soft sort of folktronica that Helios has done so delightfully over the course of several albums. "Endlich Am Ziel" lopes along with some quiet brushed drums and acoustic guitar melodies while white noise hiss and quiet electronics fill in the back corners. In other places yet (like "Inversion" and the nearly nine-minute "Und Die Welt Steht Still"), the album drifts into a gooey, drifting ambience of filtered strings that's certainly cinematic, but not quite as engaging as the more developed tracks. I mentioned Helios before, and this is the sort of release that would definitely appeal to fans of that artist of the Type Records (or City Centre Offices) labels in general. It's solid stuff, just waiting for the movie of your life to soundtrack.