Tashi Dorji low clouds hang, this land is on fire
Tashi Dorji's low clouds hang, this land is on fire channels political anger into a spacious, often meditative guitar record that rewards patience and close listening. Across three professional reviews, critics find Dorji turning amplified riffs and feedback into elegiac soundscapes where melody and texture collide, yielding a collection that feels both weary and resolute.
The critical consensus, earned at a 75.33/100 across 3 professional reviews, highlights standout tracks that crystallize the album's strengths. Reviewers consistently point to “a new morning breaks” and “black flag anthems” as moments where melody pierces the haze, while “burn the throne” and the provocatively titled “But go not "back to the sediment" in the slime of the moaning sea, For a better world belongs to you, and a better friend to me” supply contrasting textures - quiet reverb and abrasive threat respectively. Critics praise Dorji's solo guitar experimentation, the use of space, reverb and feedback, and the way melancholy turns into political optimism or collective resolve in the album's brighter passages.
Not all reviews are unreserved: some critics note stretches that drift into background haze and would benefit from sharper focus, making the record feel uneven at points. Yet the prevailing view is that when Dorji marries his amplified guitar soundscapes to a clear melodic center, low clouds hang, this land is on fire becomes a potent statement of resistance and aftermath. For readers searching for a detailed low clouds hang, this land is on fire review or wondering what the best songs on low clouds hang, this land is on fire are, the consensus points to “a new morning breaks”, “black flag anthems” and “burn the throne” as the record's most memorable moments, with the long-titled closer standing as a daring finale. Below, the full reviews unpack how those tracks and themes cohere in Dorji's latest work.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
burn the throne
1 mention
"especially on songs like burn the throne . Reverb and harmonics interchange here"— KLOF Mag
a new morning breaks
2 mentions
"When they finally culminate in the overpowering, elatedly bright 'A New Morning Breaks'"— The Quietus
low clouds hang, this land is on fire
2 mentions
"On opener 'Low Clouds Hang, This Land is on Fire', a light and plaintive, almost spectral guitar sound"— The Quietus
especially on songs like burn the throne . Reverb and harmonics interchange here
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
low clouds hang, this land is on fire
murmur
burn the throne
we overflow the streets and squares like the sea in a spring tide... and that very instant the tyrants of the Earth shall bite the dust
black flag anthems
they fall because they must fall
gathering
still
But go not "back to the sediment" in the slime of the moaning sea, For a better world belongs to you, and a better friend to me
storm the heavens
a new morning breaks
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
The Bhutanese-via-North Carolina guitarist Tashi Dorji makes low clouds hang, this land is on fire a study in political exhaustion, softening his fretboard fury into muted, languorous reverb. Joe Creely praises moments like “black flag anthems” and “storm the heavens” as the record’s most alive, where scrambled noise and drama force character through the fog. Yet the review keeps returning to a frustration - much of the album drifts into background haze and begs for further exploration. The best songs on low clouds hang, this land is on fire are those that introduce melody and noise with conviction, especially “black flag anthems”.
Key Points
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The best song is "black flag anthems" because its scrambled noise lets character and drama cut through the album’s fog.
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The album’s core strength is its evocative, muted sound world and judicious use of melody amid political exhaustion.
Themes
Critic's Take
Tashi Dorji approaches low clouds hang, this land is on fire with a mournful patience, turning amplified riffs into elegiac anthems where “Low Clouds Hang, This Land is on Fire” and “A New Morning Breaks” emerge as the record's clearest rewards. The opener unfurls spectral guitar tones that guide the listener through misty amplifier hum, while the finale erupts into an elated brightness that feels necessary and redemptive. Mid-album cuts like “Murmur” and “Black Flag Anthems” complicate that path with hiss, crackle and anger, but they only make the brighter endgame more triumphant. This is an album that repurposes melancholy into collective resolve, so queries about the best songs on low clouds hang, this land is on fire point you toward those plaintive opener and the soaring closer.
Key Points
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The best song is the final cut, 'A New Morning Breaks', because it culminates the album's anxieties into an elated, necessary resolution.
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The album's core strengths are its plaintive amplified guitar textures, use of feedback and hum as aesthetic, and a political melancholic-to-optimistic arc.
Themes
KL
Critic's Take
Tashi Dorji's low clouds hang, this land is on fire finds its best tracks in the quietly powerful “burn the throne” and the gnarlier “But go not \"back to the sediment\" in the slime of the moaning sea, For a better world belongs to you, and a better friend to me”. Glenn Kimpton hears reverb and harmonics open up broad white space on “burn the throne”, while the harsher textures of “But go not \"back to the sediment\" in the slime of the moaning sea, For a better world belongs to you, and a better friend to me” supply contrast and threat. The short, playful “storm the heavens” also earns praise for its clean, mischievous use of space, making these among the best songs on low clouds hang, this land is on fire.
Key Points
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The best song, "burn the throne", is best for its reverb, harmonics and sense of respite amid melancholy.
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The album's core strengths are its use of space, reverb and restrained electric guitar to convey political anger and quiet beauty.