As a label, Thrill Jockey has championed American experimental rock music for many years. Beyond high profile acts such as The Sea & Cake and Trans Am, their catalogue is full of fascinating sonic bookmarks. This latest release is a case in point. Though billed as a duo, this is a project where Rose Lazar creates art and Robert Lowe generates music at home that’s inspired by, or tweaked to perform as an aural soundtrack.
That some of this artwork is reproduced within the confines of CD-sized packaging doesn’t detract from the fact that, musically, this is a gem. Armed with analogue synthesisers, Lowe delivers a pert eight tracks that hark back to early German experimental music, while embracing the more listful, ambient textures of Aphex Twin and Brian Eno. The extended Crayon Gym is a compelling travelogue of sequenced arpeggios and lemon-sharp synth lines, while Fantomoj De La Vitro Domo is a short slice of ease. Tumbling Punkto is the sound of someone finding a sequenced riff they like and simply repeating it without hardly any adornment for five minutes. Wonderfully impressionistic and, as left-field instrumental synth music, utterly compelling.
