#stareside

As a fan of Auburn Lull, Kolb’s involvement in this project piqued my interest. His trademark pedalled, reverberating guitar swells are all over this music, harmonically enriched by synth pads and plenty of ambiguous textural details that bring some welcome grit to the luxuriant mix. Track titles “Wash Away The Dust” and “In A Stream” evoke the feeling that this music creates: of being cleansed, of surrendering to the flow. When rhythmic elements are introduced — such as the satisfyingly dirty bass on “Sink The Outlook,” the insistent knocking sound on “Vantage Low,” or the heart-like pulse of “Osar” — the album gently propels the listener between its more unmoored, drifting moments.  

With music this gentle, unhurried and subtle, the smallest details can raise the hairs on the back of your neck, such as the flute-like guitar loops on “Wash Away The Dust,” or the tremolo effect on the succinct “Havel.” The highlight of the album appears late in the tracklist. “Stareside” rides a delicate, metallic-sounding rhythm track, above which a buoyant synth arpeggio adds some charming color and movement. Guitars and synths weave to and fro across the track’s nearly nine minutes, mustering a lovely balance between movement and stasis that characterizes this album’s appeal.