Swiftly following his best release to date, 2018's excellent
Don't Look Away,
Alexander Tucker made the expansive, hypnotic
Guild of the Asbestos Weaver. The remarkably focused album is easily one of his most consistent efforts, achieving a potent electro-acoustic fusion sound and balancing drones with instantly familiar-sounding hooks. Most of the instruments he's credited with playing are various synths, drum machines, and effects, but apart from the electronic beats, his bass and cello are the most prominent elements, and he transforms them into a rich, fuzzy haze which befits his elegant vocals. The album's title is a reference to Fahrenheit 451, and while the lyrics are inspired by
Tucker's love of science fiction and horror, tying into his work as a visual artist, it doesn't sound nearly as dark or dystopian. Opening song "Energy Alphas" is appropriately warm and uplifting, with
Tucker's inviting, echo-kissed vocals floating over the vivid, pulsating buzz. "Artificial Origin" and "Precog" are more visceral, filled with tactile slapping and bowing of cello strings, and as tense as they seem, they end up in a transcendent state, particularly when "Artificial Origin" ends up with a crushed beat and insistent lyrical repetitions. Even more mantra-like is the light, ethereal "Cryonic," a ten-minute cycle of feathery vocals, minimal electronic blips, delicate strings, and subtly trippy manipulations.
Tucker's previous few albums contained some of his most stripped-down, direct material, but here he goes for a bigger, grander sound, and the results are no less powerful.