On their second LP for the venerable Thrill Jockey label, experimental sound sculptors Mountains (comprised of Brooklyn residents Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp) all but shunned the use of the computer as an editing and manipulating device. Instead, “the processing of the instrumentation … was done using a variety of pedals, modular synths and other analog techniques,” according to the label. Despite the shift, Air Museum is (somewhat ironically) the most electronic-sounding record the duo has made. Where Mountains’ Thrill Jockey debut, Chorale, put on full display the instruments that worked together to make such a delicate and gorgeous sound, the components of Air Museum are harder to identify, though in no way is the album less enjoyable for it. “Blue Lanterns On East Oxford” exhibits this affect admirably, building from a swirling synth loop into a warm and transfixing bevy of oscillating sounds. Air Museum is out now.
