Devin Sarno - Etches

Released: March 1

Etches, the latest work from L.A. musician Devin Sarno, is a mysterious sounding two-piece EP that seems to have been created with a subtle variety of tools. Despite being just around ten minutes in length, there is a quite a bit of sound layering to unpack. The approach seems rather straightforward in creating his particular strain of drone music, but the simplicity is a bit deceptive. Warbling sounds of a tape being spooled at inconsistent speed layers in with foggy horn-like sounds and small atmospheric whooshes in the first track. It creates this slow burning feeling as the track seethes in and out, the layers becoming separated and congealed together at the same time. 

The second track takes the low simmering of the first and flips it on it head to give us an entirely diaphanous experience with delicate pieces of high-pitched drones drifting in and out continuously. It is only near the halfway point that this focus on higher register airy drones that resemble string is interrupted. In this shift we begin to hear low rumbling and reverberated atmospheres of clicks and pops poking in. The intricate interplay between contrasting sounds creates something that begs to be listened to intently with well-timed temporary shifts in the sound space. Headphones highly recommended if you want to catch every bit of the ear candy here.