Build Buildings - Ecotone

Released: September 9

Ecotone is a gentle and varied ride filled with all manner of digital manipulations. Much of the sound work stems from acoustic sounds and is sent through a sampler program used on an iPad. It's a rather novel way to interpret the sourced sounds, all of which seem to be sourced from just three musicians - Ben, Mia, and Louis Tweel - and one of them may be Build Buildings their self but it is not clear. Regardless, the small and often placid textures that arise from this combination of sources is supremely sublime as plucked strings stutter in and out over more padded drones and backgrounds. 

You can easily hear all the intricate textures and tones interplay with one another starting from the very first track, "Unpinned, Uncoiled." The soft guitar that is prominent throughout glitches into and out of the picture after its few initial strums that we are given completely un-manipulated The quick little reverses, the trailing stutters, and the slight warps give an ethereal feel to the otherwise serene sounds. And the album leans heavily on this established motif throughout the runtime, with different effects and spins on the material. "Knoll," which comes just past the halfway point of the album, gave me one of the most fun experiences on the album due to this fun little stuttering piano bloop kind of sound that repeats itself with regularity, changing only a couple of times before returning to it's original theme. It feels very light, but not quite happy. 

Overall, what I really enjoyed was the glitchy and stuttering nature of the album. Of course I can get this from many albums, but what really struck me was the ability Build Buildings showed in giving these seemingly random and odd glitches such a soft, quiet, and peaceful veneer. Even with any of the sonic chaos caused by these effects, none of the tracks felt chaotic, hectic, or overwhelming. Everything was couched in a calmness that is hard to put my finger on, but quite perceptible.