Stephen Connolly used to release music as Pothole Skinny and was half of the excellent Perhaps Transparent label (They did the vinyl version of P.G. Six’s The Well of Memory, for example), so finding out he’s recently dipped a toe back in (something I can relate to in spades) was great news. Inspiriels (on his new label, Speaking Clouds) is laced with crystal-soaked synths and varying field recordings that mines similar vibes as Connolly’s past work, but comes at it from a new direction. ”Deer Prisms” dives into icy depths with minimal rhythmic elements and glacial drones while “Bunny Rock” (all the song titles on here are fantastic by the way) is lighter, but rich with repetitive textures and clouded melodies. Inspiriels moves around comfortably within different moods and zones, but still occupies a singular synthetic web. Nice stuff.
