Jacob Long‘s third release for Kranky as Earthen Sea finds him further cocooning the listener in his simple but effective web of shimmering soundscapes, soundscapes sent from a distant outpost their lazy beats laced with tingling textures.
A rush and a sigh, a sense of plaintive motion, slowly rippling air and a feeling of inexorable forward motion. Sometimes submarine, the bubbles passing a smoky porthole, that gauzy sense of protection but with an overarching unreality. The warmth on Ghost Poems propels the listener, keeping them safe, each piece seducing with the undulating beats guaranteeing safe passage.
The dreamy half-heard beats lurk in the corner of the ear, the disparate elements and sense of space somehow entrance, causing a much fuller emotional experience that might be expected. It is sleepier and warmer than gentler Seefeel moments and there is a little more engagement than Bowery Electric and the simmering wave of sunshine that lights up “Rough Air” is a real tonic. Each of the pieces here is a fresh perspective on a singular vantage point and it is really impressive that the ideas constantly draw the listener in. Repetitive lullaby keyboards on “Ochre Sky” frame a hypnotic motif around which the rest of the ingredients revolve; but each of the pieces has its own defining details, the impressionist smears of sound giving a unique casting for each.The attention to detail here is just lovely and the sensations that the album evokes make it so easy to live with. Just take a step back and dive in.
-Mr Olivetti-
