In which the baroque folkie and sound sculptor par excellence reunites with his influential stepfather to plunder a series of captivating, tautly constructed ambient New Age synth-wave hymns from years of circuitous jam sessions; a thrilling musical conversation of unsettling and uplifting aromas that pays exquisite homage to mentoring and a shared personal … [Read more...] about Sufjan Stevens and Lowell Brams: Aporia – Review
Brian and Roger Eno: Mixing Colours – Review
Mixing Colours sees the ambient siblings conspire to produce a contemplative, meditative and therapeutic work that provides a welcome respite from our current anxieties. If you’re searching for a musical balm for our current psychic landscape, then look no further than Mixing Colours, the gorgeous new offering from ambient godhead Brian Eno and his pianist brother, Roger, … [Read more...] about Brian and Roger Eno: Mixing Colours – Review
Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty: Visions – Review
Former Badbadnotgood cohorts conspire to conjure mesmerising soundscapes which dip into jazz, electronics, post-rock and lounge-soul to thrilling effect on new album Visions. Even though keyboardist and guitarist Matthew Tavares announced his departure from Toronto jazz-post-rockers Badbadnotgood last October, the announcement of a spin-off collaboration with that combo’s … [Read more...] about Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty: Visions – Review
William Tyler: Music From First Cow – Review
William Tyler, the avatar of instrumental Americana, sculpts an affecting, elegiac and Zen-like score for indie auteur Kelly Reichardt’s intimate frontier tale. Kelly Reichardt’s status as one of America’s leading indie exponents of quietist, humanist and poetic cinema has long been assured, peddling as she does the polar opposite of mainstream cinema’s preoccupation with … [Read more...] about William Tyler: Music From First Cow – Review
Stephen Malkmus: Traditional Techniques – Review
The former Pavement leader, Stephen Malkmus' returns with a typically whimsical if rambling take on a psych-folk album. The elder statesman of slacker indie rock, Stephen Malkmus, has frequently resembled an aimless, rootless soul since Pavement’s demise almost two decades ago. However, since 2018 there have been signs of a tentative return to form and a sharpening of … [Read more...] about Stephen Malkmus: Traditional Techniques – Review
Dana Gavanski: Yesterday Is Gone – Review
Canadian folkie Dana Gavanski comes of age with a plaintive and refreshing take on lovelorn indie-pop confessionals. Love-sick troubadours inhabit the genre of introspective, confessional singer-songwriter folk using heartbreak as a well-worn trope, yet the wispy, becalming pop of Canadian singer-songwriter Dana Gavanski injects the emotionally fraught fault-lines of … [Read more...] about Dana Gavanski: Yesterday Is Gone – Review