Adam Wiltzie – Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal (Kranky)

There are only nine, of course, and Wiltzie’s dry sense of humour is evident among some of the track titles, most notably the snappily monickered opener “Buried at Westwood Memorial Park, In an Unmarked Grave, To the Left of Walter Matthau”. Stars of the Lid and A Winged Victory for the Sullen fans are going to instantly feel in familar territory as that piece progresses through its eight minutes at a sedate pace, with swelling strings, guitar sustain and bass drones. None of the other tracks are more than half that length. Some, like “Pelagic Swell”, feel inconsequential standing alone, its backdrop melancholy as a cello drones rises and fades, but they slot in and carry the plot forward, so to speak. “Stock Horror” is creepy without being too disturbing until the throaty death rattle at its close. A firm grasp of counterpoint is key to the success of music like this, as bass drones and sweeping strings play against each other in a slow-motion dance. This can sound magnificent when done as well as it on “As Above So Below”, whilst on “Mexican Helium” it lends a flavour of desolate melancholy (or melancholic desolation). There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of acts of Bandcamp who do the wistful drone thing, taking the template of Stars of the Lid and running (or rather crawling) with it. Few have the instinctive command that Wiltzie does.