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M. Geddes Gengras

“The work of prolific Los Angeles producer M. Geddes Gengras is often discussed in terms of “vibes.” This is fair enough, given the wandering modular synth experiments for which he’s known (not to mention his warmer forays into dub alongside Sun Araw, and his stated late-blooming appreciation for the Dead). Lest such language imply a relaxed sort of grooviness, however, his latest full-length—a double LP comprising four barely-discrete compositions, each around 18 minutes—extends into more anxious territory.

Composed and recorded over the last six years, Interior Architecture is so expansive that it can be hard for the listener to find her footing. What’s rewarding, in addition to the lush and liquid sound of Gengras’ indulgent approach, is that very experience of instability. It’s more pronounced than in his previous releases, and here takes on a psychological dimension.

Taking his time to build and disassemble each passage, Gengras seems to work without many constraints. As his compositions develop out, there’s an experiential and pleasure-taking quality to his application of new progressions, even when they’re wholly dissonant. Outside of this project, he collaborates with a number of Los Angeles musicians, but here he’s very much working alone, a fact that underscores the interiority audible throughout. This is briefly disrupted by the introduction of Seth Kasselman on clarinet on “Extension_Breath_Worm Suite Pt. 3,” an element that, though it enters and exits in appropriately abstract squelches, contrasts somewhat curiously with the album’s vocabulary. Gengras otherwise comfortably and loosely fills out space, lost in what he’s making.” – Thea Ballard, Pitchfork Media