The Mansion

AlbumMar 09 / 20187 songs, 36m 7s86%
Electroacoustic Musique concrète
Noteable

SP 045 Brett Naucke returns to Spectrum Spools with his sophomore LP following the "Seed" LP (SP-034) as well as a string of exceptional cassette releases on Umor Rex and Hausu Mountain. "The Mansion" finds Naucke at the peak of his powers with a fresh array of meticulously composed psychotropic tapestries. Themes based on a childhood home, now a distant memory, reveal a mysterious narrative in mind-bending sonic detail. These complex ideas fuse conflicting states of tension and beauty with an organic acumen, each track a piece of the greater whole. "The Mansion" is a fine mixture of contemporary concrète structure interlaced with tightly crafted melodic arrangement and hi-fidelity electronic exploration. In addition to his stalwart synthesis, Naucke employs additional personnel featuring vocal duties from Natalie Chami (of Goodwill Smith and TALsounds) and Viola sounds from Whitney Johnson (of Matchess). Field recording, piano and other various instrumentation are also carefully implemented adding a new, deeper dimension to the Naucke oeuvre. With his most realized set of compositions yet, "The Mansion" finds Naucke at the paragon of his conceptual and sonic ethos with a work that's at once deeply meaningful and profound in it's auditory breadth.

8 / 10

The Mansion is Chicago-based synthesist Brett Naucke's sophomore outing for John Elliott's (Emeralds) Spectrum Spools label. It's also the E...