Andrew Tuttle's third release under his own name (he previously went by
Anonymeye) is another stunning, natural-sounding blend of acoustic folk melodies and digital signal processing. In some ways, what
Tuttle does with banjos and acoustic guitars can be likened to what
Fennesz does with electric guitars, but this still sounds more rootsy, even while conforming to no traditions at all. The gentle, intricate, close-miked melodies are always the focus, but the electronics emphasize the droning, cocoon-like qualities, as well as adding the right amounts of glitches, buzzes, and delay effects that fans of labels like Mego and Room40 appreciate. The short tracks during the album's midsection are a bit more distant, and closing piece "The Coldest Night" starts out glacial and blurry before fingerpicked guitars and several layers of trumpets pull things into focus before the album ends. Highly recommended, as is everything
Tuttle does. ~ Paul Simpson