McBride, Brian “When the Detail Lost Its Freedom” [Kranky]

This intuitive recording is mournful mausoleum drone from this member of Stars of the Lid. One immediately senses the emotional deep hush & whispered sounds of rushing ethereal spirits flowing in seamless motion. He created these gorgeous soundscapes using ambient room noise, treated violin, telecaster guitar, muted bell tones, piano, harmonica, chamber e-bow, and more. Drawing comparisons to the Dead Texan or Brian Eno’s Ambient Music for Airports certainly probe the right areas. Yet McBride’s approach is a bit different in that he samples and manipulates the culmination of sound, using innovative keyboard techniques to play those delicate fragments. Underlying his bewitching atmospheric tones is a brooding sadness, probably reflective of McBride’s own state of well-being through some rough personal times. The power & beauty behind his work is a genuine reflection of the man’s soul and an outpouring of his heavy heart. It’s a brilliant undertaking, one that braves an uneasy tension before arriving at relative peace.