Black Brunswicker | In the Age of Aristocracy
Stereoscenic Records (CS/DL)
Black Brunswicker takes a harmonic ambient journey for the rest of us here on this seven track EP, In the Age of Aristocracy. By blending soft and hued washes of color to and circulating hum tracks like Bohemian Paradise and Old Town are quite dreamy, sort of modern day shoegazers really full of gentle stringed twang and warm reverb. The artist considers this “a love letter to the Czech Republic” musing about Prague’s pastel colored buildings and rural countryside. The short pieces are gleaming little vignettes that alternate slightly in their loose chord structure, but certainly offer a glimpse into the impressions place has on memory.
On Austro-Hungarian Blues the guitar lines flow as if a crane is flying just inches from the edge of an endless glassy lake that stretches for more miles than the eye can see to its end. The idea of bringing the blues into electronic music has long been a mysterious disconnect for me, but somehow Brunswicker connects the loose ends and I’m fully plugged in. Sevastopol creates a swirling, romantic atmosphere with a gentle approach that pours from the inside out. His use of acoustic guitar with the added tape loops and delays give off this endless dreamlike state. The atmosphere is duly weary and destitute, though also wholly hopeful and reflective as well, at various intervals. By using a Tascam 424 he’s enabled a host of processes, which are never too heavy, just a lightweight wash of ambience, closing with The Village Sleeps, which does just that.
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