Loscil, "Sketches from New Brighton"

While 2010's excellent Endless Fall was a bit of a curve-ball, Scott Morgan has historically not been a man prone to surprises or grand gestures.  As a result, Sketches from New Brighton sounds almost exactly like I would expect a new Loscil album to sound.  There are certainly some minor evolutions and thematic changes, but Morgan is more or less covering very familiar territory once again (lush, pulsing, aquatic-sounding soundscapes).  Fortunately, I am quite fond of that territory.

Kranky

As alluded to by its title, Sketches from New Brighton falls within Loscil's series of works inspired by specific places.  The place in this instance is an ocean-side park in Vancouver bordered by factories.  It is easy to see how the collision of seemingly infinite natural majesty and dreary dystopian industrial sprawl could be inspiring, but it is hard to tell how much of New Brighton's character is actually reflected in the music because changes in Loscil's sound tend to be so subtle.  That said, Morgan's pace and textural leanings seem very much akin to drifting smoke and gently washing waves, as Sketches is essentially a series of languorous, artfully blurred swells unfolded with hypnotic repetition. Despite that, the nine pieces here have a structure and an approach that sets them a bit apart from most ambient music–they sound a lot more like '90 Mille Plateaux-style dub techno and Oval-style skipping CD loops liquified and purged of all beats and harshness.

Kranky's description of this album uses the amusing phrase "aural Feng Shui" to describe Morgan's aesthetic and it is difficult to think of a better way to describe what he has accomplished.  There are not any real hooks to speak of, nor are there any infectious rhythms or overt distinctions between the various pieces, but the album is nevertheless a very immersive, deliberate, and evocative whole without a misstep or wasted note.Although Scott has unarguably chosen very narrow stylistic terrain to work within, his minimalism affords him the ability to focus his near-obsessive attention upon every single aspect of his work.  As a result, Sketches from New Brighton is an absolutely beautiful piece of craftsmanship, production. and composition: deep sub bass, fragilely shimmering and quivering synths, quietly insistent pulses, subtly melancholy melodic coloration, spaciousness, small-scale vibrancy and unpredictability, etc.  Morgan does not miss a single detail.

It is pretty hard to rank Sketches from New Brighton within the Loscil oeuvre, as some of Morgan's other efforts offer a lot more in the way of instant appeal (grooves, broader textures, stronger melodies).This is easily as satisfying as anything else that Scott has done, however. He may have become narrower and more subtle, but he has also gone deeper.  As a result, Sketches is something of a step forward artistically, but a step backwards in accessibility and immediacy.  That is fine by me (this is not pop music, after all)–it just means that I will only reach for this album when I am in the mood for more focused and active listening.  Sketches from New Brighton is unquestionably yet another fine album from Scott, but it takes a bit more attention and effort to fully appreciate than usual.