Included in Kathy's list of favorites for 2018: mainlypiano.com/favorites/kathys-favorites-2018
when searching for meaning in suffering, when trying to process the unfathomable and you discover that there are more questions than answers, that is when
you hear the quiet whispering of strength that is often drowned out by the unrelenting noise of the world.

This album is dedicated to my brother Joe and his family who I hold dearly in my heart as they go through the trials and tribulations of the disease of stage 4 cancer which he has contracted. It has metastasized from a spot on the kidney to the lungs, lymph nodes and adrenal gland. His wife was also diagnosed with breast cancer and will be starting radiation treatment shortly.
They have a 6-year-old little girl who is very precious and who I have become quite fond of.
The inspiration for this album came from conversations between Joe's wife and I about the book of job that we would have late into the night as I recently visited the family.

Thank you very much from me and my family for your support, your prayers and your thoughts of comfort during this time.

"Scott Lawlor is an artist in more than one sense of the word, he is a creator of music that touches the soul, and he is also an artist who paints with music in such a way, that it reflects exactly on this condition we all have called, humanity. The vastness of the soundscapes that Lawlor brings into our realm are without parallel, and now we can journey together, through yet another realm of inner dimensional music, via the project called Look Unto the Heavens.
So let’s enter the portal and embrace the tones, our first experience is called, Clothe Me With Skin and Flesh and Knit Me Together With Bones and Sinews. You will find that most of the titles, like the tracks are long form, but this ultra-descriptive narrative is exactly what we need. This offering is some of the finest ambient styled work I have heard since Eno; we can allow our imagination to see humanity in creation mode through this simply wonderful fluid composition.
I have listened too much of Scott Lawlor’s work, and with each listen I become an even bigger fan, so let’s stay in the flow with the next piece called, The shady trees cover him with their shadow. This is one of my personal favourites from the release, I have a love for the ambient genre and Scott Lawlor brings so much to it, but on this 12 minute plus opus he generates a whole new realm to explore, so let’s close our eyes and let our powers of visualization come to the fore. This is paced so well and created with so much thought, that we can with ease be the watcher within the forest, and the guardian of this musical glade.
Scott Lawlor’s talent is sublime in manifesting quality soundscapes, and within the offering called, And behold the clouds which are higher than thou, we have a real and tangible chance to sample the lighter energy of Lawlor’s artistry. This is just about perfect with regard to the subject matter and Lawlor’s gentle but careful hand on the keyboards and synths create a resonance so peaceful and light to float upon.
Each track seamlessly moves into each other, and creates a backdrop so enticing that at each corner, we’re never quite sure what to expect next. On the piece entitled, For he wounds, but he binds up, that reality is explored in far more depth. There is a deeper and a more sombre mood to this construction, but also one that, so very carefully begins to grow with a distant positive intensity.
We now float with serenity into the following composition called, He shatters, but his hands heal. This merges so well with the previous track and musically this is an opportunity to watch perhaps a rebirth. To grow again we must let go, so we can shatter from what we once were and then transform into something much more. Lawlor’s attention to detail here is quite breath-taking, especially around the 5 minute mark, where there is a distinct elevation in energy, perhaps as the one constant in the universe takes place, change!
And our days on earth are but a shadow, this is our musical footpath to explore, for those of us who realise that our short time on the face of this planet is fleeting, this has to be the anthem for that belief. Lawlor’s skills here are supreme in creating a new landscape, perhaps a hillside, where we can watch the shadows crawl across a scenic vista, and know that despite all of our desires and hopes, we are but a shadow of futures past and present. Scott Lawlor in this one incredible piece has manifested pure music for thought and contemplation through honesty.
Apart from being easily the longest title I have ever written about or even seen, For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease, is one of the most beautiful ambient slices of music I have merged with for some time. Eno used to like to create space between music, so much so, that the space was just as important as the music itself. Lawlor here has done something similar, the piece seems to ebb and flow, like the encroaching sea line on the coast of the western ocean, but never loses its cohesion. The long notes are as equally important as the narrative that is drawn by the music, one of hope, one of life. Once more after the half way point, you will hear a smooth, but slight elevation in power, and this will give you exactly the same sensation as seeing a ray of sunlight break through the clouds on a dismal cloudy day.
The mood on this next piece is akin to a new dawn and is called, Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. This is perhaps a composition of perspective. Life does indeed change constantly, but the perception that life can be altered for the good, by acceptance of actual change. This in my view is one of the cleverest pieces off the album, one that shines shards of light into a dark room, and creates sparkling images of musical possibilities along the way; here is a piece that seems to constantly reinvent itself, as it unfurls itself into our reality.
And those who mourn are lifted to safety, is our penultimate offering, Scott Lawlor allows us to breathe on this piece, and no matter what trauma we encounter, at some stage we will be lifted and raised from our sorrow. This is a truly cathartic arrangement from Lawlor and again one that offers hope along the highways of life’s rich and sometimes confusing patterns.
You will find something quite outstanding awaiting you at the end of the album, as track 10 delivers a 4 part opus of grandeur, one so in-depth and so well performed. This is the title of the entire concept, and of course called Look unto the Heavens. Here Lawlor explores the inner realms of what some describe as heaven, and with each and every brush stroke of ambient brilliance; he manifests a musical reality that one could totally be at peace and harmony with. We can drift seamlessly through one island of utter harmonic bliss and then be raised in a stunning vibrational energy, through the simplest of choral harmonies, into another. Lawlor’s creation expresses itself with an arrangement that best describes infinity and brings into reality a place in music, where we become the watchers of time and tide.
Scott Lawlor will always remember this album; it’s a benefit release to help his brother who is suffering from Cancer. He will be proud of this creation; he has manifested something here that is special and deeply peaceful. Look unto the Heavens is an album of sanctuary, a place that he has musically created that is free from pain, a sojourn for his brother, a respite for all who need to stop and breathe and an album of some of the best ambient music I have heard for many years, this healing journey of a release must be saluted for its incredible self-expression, and we all hope that Scott’s brother enjoys his moments in the realm of this album and receives all the love, light and healing he can get from it."
Review by Steve Sheppard, One World Music Radio

"Look Unto the Heavens is the first of a three-part series of albums composed and released by Scott Lawlor between mid-2017 through May 2018. The series is dedicated to Scott’s brother, Joe, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that had metastasized and later took his life. Look Unto the Heavens is two hours and twenty-two minutes of soothing ambient music that suggests the enveloping peace of the heavens while trying to make sense of this horrifying disease here on earth. Lawlor explains it this way: “when searching for meaning in suffering, when trying to process the unfathomable and you discover that there are more questions than answers, that is when you hear the quiet whispering of strength that is often drowned out by the unrelenting noise of the world.” Lawlor goes on to say that the inspiration for this album came from late night conversations with Joe’s wife about the book of Job during a visit with the family shortly before composing the album.

The ten tracks flow together seamlessly to create a very tranquil atmosphere over the full length of the album. There are subtle variations within each track, but they are mostly ambient sounds layered with occasional instrumental phrasings. While there are feelings of vast space in the music, this doesn’t feel like “space music” to me, as that often feels kind of lost, dark and even frightening. This music is dark, but much of it expresses of warmth, comfort and even reassurance.

The individual tracks range from a bit over six minutes to over an hour, and each has a descriptive title. Read consecutively, they form an interesting message: “Clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. The shady trees cover him with their shadow and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal, and our days on earth are but a shadow. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.” The last track, which runs for more than an hour is the title track of the album.

Look Unto the Heavens is a profound ambient musical work by one of its masters, Scott Lawlor."

Review by Kathy Parsons of mainlypiano.com