On his second album, Matthias Grübel, the musician behind
Phon-Noir, aims for and creates a contemplative, understated atmosphere of roiling rhythms and minimal pop that if anything sounds like a new incarnation of what's since been dubbed the minimal synth approach of the early '80s, where any number of bedroom experimenters created electronic efforts that aimed at the mysterious and shadowy rather than the sprightly. Grübel's work has more of the sweetly chilled feeling that later acts in the world of restrained electronics via IDM than those pioneers, but combined with the occasional spare guitar part, as on the opening "The Figurines Are Moving," the effect is still one of preternatural chill. As with many albums recorded in the first decade of the 21st century, there's a sense of gentle mélange at work, something that could almost be at home in a quiet jazz club in the early '60s as in a chill-out room in the future, and the strand of sonic influences that touches on a variety of acts including
Brian Eno,
Bark Psychosis, and others with a similar ear for calm but heavily textured work. Near-invisible hooks provide the anchor through almost every song, such as the keyboard figure on "Invisible at Last," with Grübel's voice providing an anchor in singing with calm, deliberate rumination. Given the tone of the album being constant, it's the variations that stand out, whether it's the more direct chorus and rising chime on "Sing Through the Wires" or the horse-clip pace and beat and circular guitar figure that help drive "As Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age." ~ Ned Raggett