Disquiet

For its full hour or so, Rui Gato‘s single-track Transit (MP3) transports the listener from one aural locale to another. Each spot on the itinerary is a mix of instrumental, found and synthesized sounds, be it acoustic guitar against a wash of beach waves and long electronic tones, or carillon bells against pick-up-stick percussion and swampy drones. There is accordion and bird song and, throughout, a thoroughly enchanting sense of detachment. There are never so many items that the sounds melt into an indistinguishable mass, nor so few that any one of them becomes the focus of attention. The set is among the most recent and most highly recommended at the netlabel called test tube, at monocromatica.com/netlabel (where, it’s worth mentioning, the album’s listing includes a gratuitous and nonsensical swipe at another musician, utterly out of sync with the sedate mood of the recording).

By Marc Weidenbaum